


Come Back To Me

by InsanityIsFreedom



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Abandoned Tsuna, Alternate Universe - Twins, Angst, Arcobaleno Sawada Tsunayoshi, Child Abandonment, Dark Past, Family, Father Reborn, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, Human Experimentation, Lies, Major Illness, Memory Alteration, Past Child Abuse, Past Violence, Sawada Ienari - OC, Siblings, Suffering, Tsuna has a tough life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-04-20 18:17:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 70,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4797479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsanityIsFreedom/pseuds/InsanityIsFreedom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Reborn comes to Nanimori in order to train Sawada Ienari, the next candidate for the position of tenth boss of the Vongola, he is closely followed by Sawa Tsunayoshi, a mysterious boy who seems to have a lot of secrets. Those who wish to solve the puzzle that is Tsunayoshi will be quick to realize that sometimes ignorance is bliss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This works was originally posted on ff.net and has already been completed. Keeping this in mind updates should be regular, from once to twice a week.
> 
> Please be warned that I have used clichés on purpose and that it is useless to comment on that fact or read this fic unless you are interested in knowing what I did with them!
> 
> Characters with the exception of Sawada Ienari do not belong to me.

** Namimori, Sawada Household **

Sawada Nana was humming happily as she placed her son’s breakfast on the table. She took a step back to examine her work before nodding with satisfaction and turning towards the staircase.

“Na-kun! Breakfast is ready!” she called at the top of her voice.

Satisfied with the muffled reply coming from the bathroom, she went back to the dining room. Soon after, the sound of someone hurrying down the steps could be heard. A blond boy came running into the room, sitting down hurriedly.

“Good morning, Na-kun.” said Nana with a sweet smile.

“Morning.” replied Sawada Ienari before he hastily started to eat.

The brown haired woman smiled at her son’s antics. Just like every morning, he had gotten up late and had to race to get to school on time.

“By the way Na-kun, a tutor is coming today.” she announced happily.

Her son nearly choked on his mouthful of cereals.

“WHAT?!” he cried out, eyes wide and disbelief evident in his expression. “But I don’t need a tutor! I’m doing fine…”

This last sentence had been almost mumbled. Clearly, he wasn’t doing fine. His grades were awful and he knew it. But that was okay because he wasn’t interested in academics anyway, what he was interested in was football.

“The leaflet said he would make you into ‘the leader of the next generation’, isn’t that nice?” continued Nana obliviously.

“That sounds like a scam.” dead-panned Nari.

The conversation was cut short by the sound of the doorbell.

“Oh! That must be him!” exclaimed Nana. “Go and get the door would you Na-kun.”

Grumbling about his mother’s stupidity Ienari went to answer the door. 

“Ciaossu!” said the fedora-wearing baby on the doorstep. “I’m the home tutor, Reborn.”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!”

  


** Namimori Airport **

A young boy with gravity defying brown hair passed security, dragging an orange suitcase behind him. He walked rather quickly despite his short legs, with assurance and purpose in his steps. He went unnoticed as he maneuvered through the crowd, his plain looks and simple clothing failing to attract any attention. 

He managed to free himself of the crowd of travelers, his brown eyes lingering on the families that passed him by. He finally came to a stop outside the airport, automatically looking up at the blue sky overhead. The sight made him smile. He then lowered his eyes to look at his surroundings.

“So this is Namimori?” he asked himself in quiet voice.

He grinned briefly as he thought of the purpose of his journey before setting off to find the bus which would bring him into town.

  


**Italy, Sicilia**

“Caelum.” 

A middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat was knocking on the door of a run-down apartment. He had been at it for a few minutes and had finally resorted to calling the name of the apartment’s inhabitant. Still receiving no reply he placed a hand on the doorknob. He was surprised when contrary to what he expected the door opened without resistance.

He frowned, worry settling inside of him.

“Caelum? Tu è qui? (Are you here?)” he called as he entered the dark apartment. 

Hearing only silence, he made his way to the sitting room. Or at least, what had been a sitting room. It was empty. What meager furniture had once been in the room was gone, leaving only emptiness. Dread washed over the man. He rushed to check the other rooms, only to discover that they were in the same state. The only thing he found was a folded piece of paper on the bedroom’s windowsill. 

‘Shamal,’ it read. ‘Sarò in Giappone per un certo periodo di tempo (I’ll be in Japan for a while). Ho preso le medicine ma non ti preoccupare (I took my medication with me so don’t worry). Arrivederci, Caelum.’

The doctor rubbed his forehead heaving a deep sigh. That kid would be the death of him…

  


**Italy, Venice**

A ringtone erupted from a red cellphone resting on the bedside table. A teenager with silver hair entered the small room and grabbed the ringing device.

“Sì?” he answered lazily. “Shamal? What do you want?”

As the man’s voice spoke into his ear through the device, the boy’s expression morphed into a deep frown.

“What do you mean, he’s gone?” he asked finally.

Silence came to the room once again as he listened to the reply.

“Japan? What the fuck is he going to do there?” 

The second question was asked more to himself than to the man on the other end.

“Yeah sure.” he muttered still frowning. “Ciao.”

He ended the call but kept the phone in his hand, staring or rather glaring at it as if it was going to give him the answer to his questions. He jumped in surprise when it started ringing again. He quickly composed himself and took the call.

“Sì?” he asked once again. “Sì, sono io (Yes, it’s me). Chi è questo? (Who is this?)”

“Reborn?!” he choked a moment later.

He was cut off by the other, and listened intently to the hitman’s words.

“Mi pare di capire. Io ci sarò presto. (I understand. I’ll be there soon.)” he said after a while. “Arrivederci.”

The call ended and he was once again left to stare at it, wondering what the hell was going on.

“So Reborn is in Japan as well?” he mused. “What are you thinking, Caelum?”

He remained deep in thoughts for a few moments before shaking his head to dismiss the questions.

“Better let Shamal know.” he mumbled under his breath, pressing a series of digits at lightning speed.

  


**Italy, Giglio Nero Mansion**

A young woman with long black hair was looking out the window of her Famiglia’s mansion. Her deep blue eyes were fixed upon the sky overhead and a hand lingered on her chest where her mother’s heirloom had once hung from a chain. Her hand suddenly clenched as her eyes narrowed. After a moment she released a deep breath.

“So it has started.” she muttered to herself, still gazing at the clear sky.

Her hand fell back to her side and a smile graced her lips.

“Boss, sei pronto per partire? (Boss, are you ready to leave?)” a man with pale blond hair asked as he entered the study.  
With a last glance out the window she left the room…


	2. The mysterious case of Dame-Tsuna

** Namimori, Sawada Household, Reborn and Ienari **

Any self-respecting hitman, had a hint of sadism, or at least cruelty, in them. Reborn being the number one hitman in the world had plenty of both. Especially when it came to waking up a lazy student. And even more so when said student had a talent for getting on his nerves. As it was Sawada Ienari, or Nari as he was more frequently called, was just that kind of student. Ever since he had first seen Reborn, the boy had been as disrespectful as one could possibly be. It would have been one thing if it had been only to the baby hitman, but the teen was even rude to his mother. And if there was one thing that no Mafioso should disrespect, it was family. Of course, Reborn had promptly started tort…tutoring Ienari, starting with manners. A few kicks and bullets later, the blond boy had become completely unable to utter any hurtful words (it was just a nice side effect that he was also incapable of moving).

The fedora wearing infant had taken a lot of pleasure beating up his student. This might have been helped by the fact that Sawada Ienari, with his short spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, greatly resembled his father Sawada Iemitsu, who Reborn hated to the very core, for reasons obscure even to himself. But even though he wasn’t sure why he hated the head of the CEDEF, Reborn was convinced that if his intuition told him that the man was someone worth hating, then he was. He might not have the Vongola’s Hyper Intuition, but his instinct was still better than most. He had pride in it.

He also had pride in his pet chameleon, who went by the highly original name of Leon, and who could transform into any kind of object, which came in very handy. At the moment, Leon had assumed the shape of a defibrillator, while Reborn had put on a scientist’s costume. Swiftly he placed the two metal rectangles on his student’s chest and pressed the button to send electricity, successfully electrocuting his student.

“REBORN!” yelled the boy, once he got over the shock of the violent (and dangerous) wake up. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?”

“It’s a traditional Vongola technique to wake people up.” explained the infant, very pleased with himself. “You’re lucky, sometimes the person never wakes up.” he added detachedly.

“That’s because they die!” yelled the blonde furiously.

“Get up or you’ll be late Dame-Nari.” said Reborn completely ignoring the boy and marching out of the bedroom.

He stopped outside the door, repeating the sentence in his mind. Somehow calling Ienari, “Dame-Nari” felt wrong. This fact puzzled him greatly but he quickly dismissed the thought in favor of going to drink a cup of espresso in the kitchen with ‘Maman’ as he had dubbed Sawada Nana.

A few minutes later, Ienari could be heard hurrying downstairs before he entered the kitchen. He ate his breakfast in record time and made to race out but was stopped by a kick to the head.

“Say goodbye to your mother, Baka-Nari.” admonished Reborn, mentally noting that Baka-Nari sounded a lot better than Dame-Nari.

Ienari glared at his tutor but didn’t reply, preferring to obey rather than be hit again.

“Bye Mum.” he muttered hastily before rushing out the door.

“Ara, Na-kun is in a hurry this morning.” remarked Nana, who seemed unfazed by her son’s coldness. “Have a good day Reborn-kun.”

“Ciao, Maman.” replied the suit-wearing baby before following his student outside.

He quickly caught up with the boy despite the fact that Ienari had been running the whole time. As soon as he got to his student’s level, Reborn jumped on his head.

“Hurry up, Baka-Nari. You’ll be late.” he taunted as he made himself comfortable.

“Shut up!” snapped the blonde. “When the hell did you even get here, anyway?”

Reborn didn’t deem it necessary to reply and settled for whacking the boy’s head and telling him to mind his language. 

By some miracle, Ienari arrived at the school’s gates just as the first bell was ringing thus escaping the beating that he would have otherwise received from the leader of Namimori Middle School’s Disciplinary Committee, Hibari Kyoya. It went unnoticed to Ienari, that the fearsome tonfa wielding prefect was in fact absent from his usual position near the gates. Reborn, however, appeared to have noticed the boy’s absence as he lowered his fedora, thus hiding his eyes from view.

Ienari continued running until he got to his classroom. He banged the door open causing his classmates to turn around. Panting, he walked towards his seat, making sure to smile at his friends in order to keep up the friendly appearance. He didn’t have time to go and greet them however as he was closely followed by the teacher.

“A transfer student from Italy will be joining our class today. Make sure to welcome him properly.” announced the woman effectively catching the entire class’ attention. “You may come in, now.” she called towards the door.

 

**Namimori, Sawa Tsunayoshi**

Having retrieved his new uniform and changed, the brunet with unusually spiky hair made his way towards the classroom the secretary had indicated. Checking his watch, he realized he would be late if he kept walking at such a slow pace. Any normal person at this point would have started running like a headless chicken, but he preferred to simply quicken his pace. He had once been taught that it was better to be a few minutes late and give off a calm and serene aura rather than be on time and look like you had just run a marathon. First appearances were unfortunately the base of every contact you may have with others and it was even more important in business. You would never be able to make a solid partnership with someone if you appeared sloppy. 

Of course, it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference as he was only going to meet his classmates and not potential business partners. But still…

He still made it on time, with a few minutes to spare as the teacher was a little late. She arrived at last and after a brief introduction told him to wait until she called him inside. With a polite smile to the teacher he resumed his silent waiting. 

It wasn’t long until he heard the teacher calling him. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and marched to the front of the class. Standing in front of the class and smiling shyly, he stuttered his introduction.

“M-my name is S-Sawa Tsunayoshi, b-but Tsuna is fine. N-nice to meet you.”

He sweat dropped as he noticed the disappointed stares of his new classmates. Apparently Tsuna’s plain looks and generally useless demeanor wasn’t to their taste. Well, it wasn’t his fault that he looked like he did. They shouldn’t have had any expectations in the first place. Then they wouldn’t have been disappointed.

He was so taken by his inner muttering that he nearly missed the teacher’s instructions.

“Well Sawa-kun, you can sit in either one of the free seats at the back.” said the woman.

“Y-yes sensei.”

The brown eyes darted at the back row, quickly spotting the empty seats. He started walking towards them trying to decide which one he should take. One was next to a dark haired boy with a friendly smile. He was perhaps the only one who, if he had been disappointed by Tsuna’s appearance, hadn’t let anything show. The other seat was behind a boy with spiky blond hair similar to his own, though the blonde’s was shorter. The boy looked bored out of his mind. 

Reaching the last row, Tsuna placed his bag on the table behind the blond. If his intuition was right, this seat would serve his purpose better than the other one. 

 

**Namimori Middle, Reborn**

Reborn had positioned himself on the branch of a tall tree, directly outside his student’s classroom. He was busy spy…watching the class through the window thanks to his Leon-binoculars. Earlier he had placed a tiny microphone in the classroom which was directly linked to his earpiece. He was therefore able to hear every word stuttered by that pathetic transfer student. For the first time since he had arrived in Japan, Reborn felt that Nari wasn’t such a bad student after all. What would it have been if he had been ordered to tutor this…Sawa Tsunayoshi. 

The only impressive thing about the boy was his hair cut. If Reborn once thought his hair was spiky, that boy’s was way worse. It was amazing in a way that his light brown hair could stick out at such odd angles without any care for the laws of gravity. But for some reason, that strange haircut made him all the more pathetic. It was one thing that he was unusually small, terribly thin and simply pathetically weak-looking, it was another that he had something that made his stand out. Dino for example had taken useless to new heights but he, at least, didn’t stand out. That Sawa Tsunayoshi would surely be bullied if he was as no-good as his looks implied. 

Reborn watched him critically as the new student took the seat directly behind Ienari. 

He would have to keep an eye on him all the same. That teacher, whatever her name was, had said he was transferring from Italy. And by chance, he had taken the seat behind the future tenth generation boss of Vongola? That was one hell of a coincidence if anyone asked him. Not to mention he looked very similar to the Vongola’s…but that was probably a coincidence. Another one. 

He watched as Sawa Tsunayoshi was called to the blackboard to solve an exercise. After a very poor display the boy was sent back harshly to his seat and tripped on a bag on his way back. His classmates erupted into laughter and jeers fused, which made the brunet look down with an embarrassed blush. Reborn smirked. He truly was a ‘Dame-Tsuna’, then. There was just no way a kid as useless as him would be involved with the mafia.

The baby hitman was about to leave when a pair of brown eyes suddenly turned towards him. Reborn hastily hid from view. Sawa Tsunayoshi’s eyes lingered on the tree for a few moments before he once again faced the front of the class. Reborn lowered his fedora over his eyes. Had that been a coincidence? He would have to find out, but first…  
He jumped to the ground with a smirk. It was time to make a few hiding places around the school.

 

**Namimori Middle, Disciplinary Committee, Hibari Kyoya**

Hibari Kyoya, feared leader of Namimori Middle’s Disciplinary Committee, was sitting at his desk in the Reception Room, looking through the file of one Sawa Tsunayoshi.  
The herbivore had enrolled in the school a few days before. He hadn’t given much information about himself. Only that he came from Italy and wanted to go back to his homeland, Japan. Supposedly, his mother had died and his father was employed in some big company in Italy and wasn’t often home. He had given a phone number to contact in case of emergency but no name attached. He could only wonder if that number was his father’s or someone else’s.

Of course, he had already asked his second in command, Kusakabe Tetsuya, to do some extra research on the boy. Strangely enough, they hadn’t found anything. The last name ‘Sawa’ was rather rare and there were no ‘Sawa Tsunayoshi’ in existence. The closest they had found was a ‘Sawada Tsunayoshi’, twin brother of Sawada Ienari, born in Namimori. The dark haired Prefect had managed to get a copy of the birth certificate thanks to his…influence. The document stated that Sawada Tsunayoshi, born on the 14th of October, five minutes before his twin brother Sawada Ienari, had had a fatal illness of which he had died a few weeks after his birth. In short, even if the herbivore’s true name was Sawada, the only person with whom he shared a name had been dead for thirteen years. 

Needless to say, Hibari Kyoya was not happy. The transfer student was a mystery. He didn’t even have a record of his schooling in Italy since the boy had apparently been homeschooled his entire life. When the boy had been asked why, he had replied that his father travelled a lot for his work and since he had no other family he had had to follow him. Since it would have been unpractical to keep changing schools his father had chosen to homeschool him. 

Even if his story was true, it was a little too strange that his highly efficient information network hadn’t been able to trace the boy at all from the moment of his birth to his sudden appearance in Namimori.

The raven haired Prefect growled in frustration as he slammed the file shut. He glanced at the clock on the wall before getting to his feet. It was time to patrol the corridors. With some luck there would be herbivores on whom he could vent his anger.


	3. Deceiving appearance

**Namimori Middle School, Roof, Sawa Tsunayoshi**

The door opening on the school’s roof opened noisily allowing entrance to one Sawa Tsunayoshi. The boy walked up to the green railing. He clung to it eyes looking up at the cloudy sky, as a heavy sigh left his lips. He had only been in school for half a day and he was already tired of it. His classmates, though he was sure they were not bad people, had teased him mercilessly about his clumsiness. Their laughs, when he tripped on a bag lying in his way in first period, still rung in his ears. They had also made fun of his abysmal academic abilities, more specifically when he had had trouble reading the kanjis in Japanese Literature, and by the time the bell rung signaling lunchtime he had earned the nickname Dame-Tsuna. 

His brown eyes turned mournful as he recalled the various incidents. He had been aware of his incurable clumsiness for a long time but he hadn’t realized just how cruel teenagers could be when making fun of him for it. They carefree laughs showed they had absolutely no care for his feelings. 

Having said that, he was used to being mocked; his own father used to do it a lot after all. There was, however, a difference between his father’s laugh, and say, Sawada Ienari’s. While his Papa made fun of him when he made mistakes, he praised him when he did something well and in rare occasions would have an affectionate gesture towards his son. No matter what, Tsuna had always felt loved. His blond classmate on the other hand only acknowledged his existence when he was laughing at him. The rest of the time Tsunayoshi didn’t exist in the boy’s eyes.

And it was the same way with most of his classmates. There was only a few who didn’t participate in the relentless teasing. One especially. It was a girl called Sasagawa Kyoko, who sported short orange hair. She had looked genuinely worried when he had fallen to the ground and had asked if he was okay at the following break. Her dark haired friend, Kurokawa-san, had called him a monkey but had seemed glad he was fine all the same. Apart from the two girls, the few classmates who hadn’t laughed at him, simply didn’t care about him and hadn’t tried to make contact with the brown haired boy. 

Well, it didn’t matter. He hadn’t come to Japan to make friends anyway. Putting a hand in his pocket, he took out a flat rectangular box and opened it. He smiled sadly as he gazed at the photo resting inside the box. He’d come for him. His father.

Tenderly, he passed a finger on the figure of the tall man who was carrying a seven year old Tsunayoshi. The brown haired child was smiling brightly and looked at the man lovingly. The man had a similar expression, as he watched the child in his arms, though his smile was more discreet.

Tsunayoshi snapped the box shut, before the warmth that had swelled upon remembering those happy times could leave place to the bitterness of having lost it all. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and looking up once more. There were loads of clouds that day. The entire sky was dark grey and the air was cold. It was as if the sky itself was angry. The comparison made Tsuna smile. 

The sound of the door opening behind him made him jump slightly and he turned around. His gaze came to rest on the figure of a dark haired boy seemingly older than he was, with a black jacket casually resting on his shoulders.

“Herbivore.” said the boy, his cold grey eyes stopping on Tsuna’s own. “The bell rang five minutes ago. Cutting classes is inexcusable. I’ll bite you to death.”

A tonfa banged against the railing where Tsuna’s face had been a second before.

“Hiie!” squeaked Tsuna, who had rapidly slid down to the floor when the weapon had started approaching him and was now more or less squatting. “I-I’m s-s-s-sorry! I’ll g-go i-immediately!”

With these words, Tsunayoshi hastily ran away, cursing himself for not hearing the bell before this intimidating individual arrived. He ran at top speed down the stairs, only stopping to catch his breath when he was sure the scary raven-haired boy wasn’t following him.

On the roof, a Skylark was staring at the door through which the intriguing herbivore had just disappeared. The steel colored eyes flashed dangerously as the herbivorous boy’s flight replayed in the Prefect’s mind. 

Whether it was planned or not, the herbivore had managed to evade his attack which was practically a miracle considering the boy’s reputation for uselessness. Because the story of his clumsiness had already reached the entire school, even coming to the ears of the most feared person of Namimori. Of course, Hibari still thought the herbivore was pathetically weak, but he was now wondering if there wasn’t anything more to him than what met the eye. He would have to test him later… 

 

**Following morning, in the streets, Reborn and Ienari**

“You’re in love with Sasagawa Kyoko, right?” asked Reborn casually as he walked slightly ahead of his stupid student.

“H-How do you know that, Reborn?!” exclaimed the blonde boy.

The baby tilted his fedora, effectively hiding his eyes, and smirked.

“Baka-Nari, it was obvious.” he said. “You’re going to confess to her.”

“What?! What are you talking about? There’s no way I’m confessing.” retorted Ienari shaking his head violently.

Annoyed by his student’s attitude, Reborn took hold of hammer-Leon and hit him with it on the head. Hard. The blonde boy was instantly reduced to whimpers as he held his abused head.

“I said you were going to confess, so you are.” insisted Reborn.

“WHY IS IT ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS WHETHER I CONFESS OR NOT?!” 

“It is finally time.” continued the infant purposefully ignoring his screaming student.

Leon transformed once more, assuming the shape of a green gun.

“Die.” said Reborn pointing the gun at his student. “Go die once.”

Ienari stared at the baby with wide eyes.

“That’s a toy, right?” he murmured eyeing the weapon suspiciously.

The hitman didn’t reply and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew to the boy’s forehead and he fell to the ground, eyes still wide open.

“REBORN!” yelled the blonde as he shot up, ripping his clothes apart save from his boxers. “I’LL CONFESS TO SASAGAWA KYOKO WITH MY DYING WILL!”

The smirking baby watched as his student raced towards the school in his boxers, a flame burning on his forehead. Shooting Baka-Nari had felt even better than he had first thought. It was a pity the bullet was a  
Dying Will Bullet. It would have been a relief if the boy had dropped dead…

“Erm, baby?”

Trying not to show his surprise Reborn turned around. He was amazed to see that the one who had managed to sneak behind him was none other than Sawa Tsunayoshi.

“Ciaossu. What do you want, Dame-Tsuna?” asked the hitman, looking up at the bending teen.

The boy looked slightly depressed at the thought that even a baby knew his degrading nickname.

“Erm, is Sawada-kun going to be alright?” asked the boy.

The baby examined the teen. This kid really had a weak presence; he was just like a ghost. Otherwise he would never have been able to surprise the number one hitman in the world. 

“A-are you listening to me?” asked Sawa Tsunayoshi frowning slightly.

“He’ll be fine.” said Reborn answering the boy’s earlier question.

“Is that so? Well, that’s fine then.” 

The boy straightened himself and made to leave. Reborn promptly jumped on the boy’s head and sat there.

“Hi-hiee!” squeaked Dame-Tsuna in surprise. “W-What are you doing?”

“Shut up, Dame-Tsuna.” admonished the baby, kicking his head lightly for good measure.

“Ouch.” muttered the teen as he started walking towards the school.

Reborn was enjoying the ride. Tsunayoshi’s hair was much softer and comfortable than Baka-Nari’s. Maybe he had judged the boy too quickly: he might have made a better student than Baka-Nari after all.

“What’s your name?” asked Dame-Tsuna conversationally.

“Reborn.”

“Are you Sawada-kun’s little brother?” asked the teen curiously.

“No, I’m his home tutor.” replied the baby. “I’m training him to be a mafia boss.”

“Heee, that’s amazing, Reborn-kun.” said the boy gently, his tone suggesting that he didn’t believe a word the infant had said. “Is that why you wear a suit, then? Because you’re in the mafia?”

“Yeah.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes, or rather Tsuna walked and Reborn sat. Their comfortable peace was interrupted when they got to the Middle School’s gates just in time to witness Ienari’s flashy confession.

“SASAGAWA KYOKO, WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?” asked the boxer-wearing blonde.

From his spot on Tsuna’s head, Reborn heard the boy chuckle softly. This, for some reason, made him smirk.  
Once the agitation caused by Sawada Ienari’s little show was over, Tsunayoshi approached the gates. When he walked past the blonde who was still in his boxers but who was now sporting a deep blush, Reborn jumped to the ground, landing next to his student. Noticing the disappearance of the extra weight, Tsunayoshi turned around, smiling when he spotted Reborn.

“Are you stopping here?” he asked rather rhetorically. “I guess I’ll see you around then, Reborn.”

“Ciao, Dame-Tsuna.” replied the baby.

The brown haired boy waved lightly and walked away, leaving the baby and the blond behind. Ienari watched the exchange suspiciously, momentarily forgetting his impromptu confession and appearance.

“When did you and Dame-Tsuna become friends?” he asked bitterly, earning himself a kick to the head from the fedora-wearing infant.

While he was beating up his student, just because he could, Reborn’s thoughts went back to the transfer student. He certainly had an unnaturally weak presence, but apart from that he seemed normal. He hadn’t been able to feel Reborn’s aura or else he wouldn’t have been so relaxed around the hitman. Even Baka-Nari felt it to some extent. But Dame-Tsuna had just acted as if he was talking to a normal baby. He hadn’t even stuttered as much as usual.

No, Dame-Tsuna was nothing extraordinary. He was just a useless teenager. His uncanny resemblance with a certain famous Mafioso and the way he had turned towards the tree Reborn was on the other day were all flukes. He was nothing more than a below average student. Still, there was something odd about the boy, his instinct told him so.


	4. A man talks with his fists

**Namimori Middle School, Sawa Tsunayoshi**

Tsuna was sitting at his desk, doing his best to make his classmates forget about him. It wasn’t a difficult task as the other students had found something a lot more interesting to do than tease him. Ienari’s confession had indeed become the school’s hot topic. Tsunayoshi wasn’t really interested in hearing the story being recounted countless times, especially since he had been there in the first place. However, a new development, that he hadn’t been aware of, caught his attention.

“Did you hear that Mochida-senpai challenged Sawada to a fight?” said one of the football players to his friend, a dark haired baseball player by the name of Yamamoto Takeshi.

“Eh? He did?” 

“Yeah, you know how he’s always with Sasagawa?” continued the football player. “Well, apparently he decided to defend Sasagawa’s honor by challenging Sawada to a fight.”

At this point, Tsunayoshi was intently eavesdropping. This was an interesting turn of events. 

“I heard about that too! Apparently, it’ll be after school in the gymnasium.” added a boy with glasses whose name hadn’t been registered by Tsuna’s brain yet.

Deciding that he had heard everything he needed to know, Tsuna quietly slipped out of the classroom. He took a small plastic box out of his pocket and started repeatedly throwing it and catching it as he walked. 

If he remembered well, Mochida was a member of the kendo club. In fact, he was Captain. He was probably strong. He had been the one to challenge Ienari after all. He would have to be confident in his strength to ask for a fight. Having said that, Ienari didn’t look particularly strong, so that might have made the decision easier. The thought made him snicker. He didn’t have the best opinion of his blonde classmate. Then again, he didn’t a very good opinion of the class as a whole…

While he was pondering over Mochida-senpai’s fighting abilities, he arrived in a deserted corridor. Leaning against the wall, he opened the box he had been playing with. Inside were bright yellow pills. He took one and put in his mouth. After swallowing the pill, he shut the box and placed it back into his pocket. 

He supposed he might as well go and watch the fight. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do. And it might actually be interesting.

 

**Namimori Airport, Gokudera Hayato**

A young silver haired boy stepped out of the airport, a sports bag slung across his shoulders. With his sea green eyes narrowed into a cold glare and his ripped jeans he looked intimidating enough for most people to avoid him and for frightened murmurs to follow him. He took a cigarette out and lit it, before fishing a red cell phone out of his pocket. He flipped it open and scrolled down his contacts. He stopped in front of the name ‘Caelum’, his finger hovering over the button as if he was hesitating whether or not to call the number.

Deciding against it he snapped the phone shut, appearing even more irritated than he had been a moment before. He glared rebelliously at the people around him who hurried away immediately. Shoving his hands into his pockets he made for the bus stop. 

He was planning on stopping by his apartment first before going to the school he would be attending, in order to get a glimpse of the future tenth boss of the Vongola Family. Testing his future boss was the official reason for his coming to Japan. Of course, recent events had played a huge role into his decision to join Reborn in the Eastern country. 

Seriously, what was Caelum thinking? For as long as he remembered the boy had always been laidback but contrary to what one might expect from such a person, he always thought before acting and was especially careful of other people’s feelings. It was therefore surprising that he had left Italy so suddenly without a thought for those he left behind. Gokudera Hayato couldn’t even start to guess what had prompted such a sudden decision. Well, maybe he could start to guess…but it seemed somehow surreal that Caelum of all people would…

No, he most likely had a hidden agenda of a different nature. Everybody knew how crafty that guy could become when he wanted to…

 

** Namimori Middle School, Gymnasium, Sawa Tsunayoshi **

It was finally time for the duel between Sawada Ienari and the kendo club Captain. So many students had assembled in the gymnasium that Tsuna briefly wondered if the entire school had come. He ouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Most students interested in gossip, big events and/or affiliated either to Ienari or Mochida would come; this made for quite a large part of the student body.

The chestnut haired boy stayed away from the crowd, preferring to remain on the side rather than try to push his way to the front. That meant he wouldn’t get a good view of the action but that didn’t really matter to him. All he wanted to know was how strong Ienari was, and he could already make a good guess from the crowd’s comments on the blonde.

“I bet he won’t show up.” was saying an upperclassman to his friends while some girls not far from them were giggling about how strong Mochida was compared to Ienari.

Of course, he was going to form his own opinion on the matter by watching the match, but what he heard gave him a pretty accurate idea of how strong, or weak as it was, Ienari was. It wouldn’t be a problem that he couldn’t see the center of the gymnasium since he would most likely be able to tell what was happening from the reactions of the audience.

For now, whether he would be able to see or not was a minor issue, the main one being Ienari’s noticeable absence. He was already ten minutes late and some of the waiting students were starting to become impatient. The few kendo members who had gathered behind their Captain in the middle of the gymnasium appeared to take Sawada’s absence as a sign that he had run away. 

Tsuna thought that this might actually be true. Ienari didn’t look like the kind of guy who would come and fight. Then again, Reborn would probably force him to come. From what he had seen, the baby was the forceful type. The so-called hitman would see the duel as an occasion to train his student. 

A loud and obnoxious laugh caught his attention, and he turned towards Mochida-senpai who was standing in the middle of the crowd. The Captain was laughing, hands on his armored sides, nose in the air and with a triumphant expression. He looked like he had already won the battle. Not that it was necessarily wrong. Tsunayoshi peeked at his wrist watch. Fifteen minutes. It was about time the blonde made an appearance, or else the dark haired upperclassman would win by default. Tsuna felt sorry for the red haired female who was supposedly the winner’s ‘prize’.

As if he had read the brunet’s thoughts, Ienari chose that moment to step inside the gymnasium. He looked momentarily taken aback by the amount of people who had come to see the duel, but quickly regained his countenance. He walked towards Mochida with a blank expression, albeit a little stiffly. Tsuna didn’t pay much attention as the kendo Captain explained the rules of the match to his comparatively frail-looking underclassman. His eyes travelled around the place, searching for the small figure of Ienari’s home tutor. He found him standing on the railing of the gymnasium’s balcony, on the wall opposite the one he was currently leaning against. The infant didn’t seem to notice him as he was watching his student intently. 

When one of the kendo club’s members shouted for the match to start, Tsuna shifted his attention back to the dueling duo. As expected he couldn’t see anything that happened but from the loud ‘thunk’ he heard, before murmurs erupted in the crowd coupled with a few jeers, he guessed that Ienari had been hit quite hard. From the corner of his eye he detected movement on the balcony and looked up. The fedora-wearing baby was holding a green sniper rifle and was pointing it at the center of the crowd. 

Tuna barely had time to register what was happening before the child pulled the trigger. 

“REBORN!” shouted Ienari loud enough for the neighbors to hear. “I’LL WIN WITH MY DYING WILL!”

After that, it was chaos. The crowd was cheering extremely loudly and Tsuna could only make out comments such as ‘Pervert!’, ‘Pants-man!’ or ‘Go for it!’. From those he guessed that the baby had used the same technique (most likely bullet since he had used a gun) he had used in the morning, when the brown haired boy had witnessed his blonde classmate confessing to Sasagawa Kyoko. And from the sound of it, it was effective. 

A moment later, the red flag of victory was raised and shouts of ‘Amazing! He actually won!’ came from all sides. A small smile made its way to Tsuna’s lips. Maybe this would be more interesting than he had first thought. 

 

** Namimori Middle School, Gymnasium, Gokudera Hayato **

The silver haired young man was standing at the gymnasium’s doors. He had arrived just in time to see the end of the match. It seemed the one he had come to see was still an amateur and he was not convinced that he was worthy to be the Vongola Decimo. Admittedly, he was strong enough to win against the guy with the armor but he didn’t look all that impressive. Not to mention he had only won thanks to the Special Vongola Bullet: the Dying Will Bullet, which, if he had to guess, had probably been shot by Reborn. Therefore he hadn’t won with his own strength. Plus he looked really lame in his boxers, but that was a detail…

Gokudera Hayato took one last look at Vongola’s future boss and turned on his heels. He would have to ascertain the boy’s strength and potential as a Boss before he decided what to do. Or rather, he would have to find Caelum and find out what he was planning before he did anything. He wasn’t someone the silver haired teen wanted to go against. 

Having said that, he didn’t want to be on Reborn’s bad side either. He supposed he could start by testing Sawada Ienari as Reborn had asked, and decide what he would do next after he had met up with Caelum.  
Yes, that seemed like the best course of action.

Either way, it would all start the next day…


	5. What's with those Italian students?

** Namimori Middle School, Sawada Ienari **

In just a week, Sawada Ienari’s life had gone from peaceful to chaotic.

Everything had started with the arrival of that baby wearing a suit and fedora and calling himself Reborn. The devilish infant had announced that he would be training the blonde teen to become a mafia boss. And not just any mafia boss, but the heir to the biggest Italian mafia Famiglia, and one of the most prominent groups in the world. Then, there had been the new transfer student whose name resembled his own. Sawa Tsunayoshi didn’t have anything going for him and Nari, or Baka-Nari as Reborn had taken to calling him, wouldn’t have paid the boy any attention if not for the fact that he had somehow managed to befriend Sasagawa Kyoko.

Well, befriend might be too strong a word. He had only talked to the red haired girl a few times, even managing to make her laugh once. Apart from that they were just regular classmates. However, no matter how small the contact had been, it was still more than Ienari had managed in the years he had been the girl’s classmate. And because of this, he was jealous. Especially after he had essentially made a fool of himself by confessing to his crush in nothing but boxers. Winning against Mochida had eased the embarrassment a little but he was still shamed by the fact that he had once again done so nearly naked.

All in all, his life had taken a sharp turn for the worst ever since Reborn had arrived on his doorstep. And it appeared, as the teacher introduced yet another transfer student from Italy, that he still hadn’t seen the end of the tunnel.

If Sawa Tsunayoshi looked nothing like a criminal, Gokudera Hayato on the contrary looked like he could very well be affiliated to the Mafia. The boy had silver hair that reached his shoulders and sea green eyes narrowed into an eternal glare. The hands shoved into the pockets of his trousers and the deep scowl completed his bad boy looks. Which, incidentally, appeared to be to the girls’ taste.

The blonde peeked over his shoulder at the red haired girl sitting in the back row. Even Kyoko was looking at the Italian with a dreamy expression.

He turned back towards the front feeling utterly depressed, only to see the new boy advancing towards him looking supremely pissed off. Ienari shrunk on himself in an attempt to make himself as small as possible. The glare the boy was sending his way was rather intimidating and he didn’t feel brave enough to stand up to someone who looked like he had killed before. He became paralyzed when the silver haired boy stopped next to his desk.

The boy clicked his tongue, annoyed for some reason or other and kicked Nari’s desk. Both the desk and its occupant were sent to the floor, a not-so-manly shriek escaping the blonde’s lips as he was sent tumbling to the ground.

“Hey, Nari! Do you know him?” whispered the boy sitting next to him after the delinquent had moved on towards a free seat in the back.

“I’ve never seen him before.” whispered back the blonde bitterly as he straightened his desk.

When he looked back at the transfer student he noticed the green eyes looking at the empty desk next to him. Now that he thought about it, Sawa hadn’t shown up this morning. He wondered if anything had happened to the brunet. His train of thoughts was cut short when the silver haired boy’s glare fixed itself on him. The blonde boy abruptly turned back to the front. This guy was way too scary.

** Namimori Middle School, Roof, Tsunayoshi and Hibari **

At lunch break, Tsuna found himself on the roof once again. He had only been in school for about half an hour as he had missed his morning classes. He felt a bit guilty for sleeping in late that morning, thus skipping his lessons, especially since he had been neglecting his studies for the past few months. If his Papa heard about this, he wasn’t sure he’d make it out alive. Maybe it was a good thing the man wasn’t around anymore. Or you know, not…

The creaking of the door informed him of another’s arrival. 

“Omnivore.” said the newcomer, his tone and expression neutral. “For skipping classes this morning, I’ll bite you to death.” 

Absent-mindedly, the brunet noted that he had been upgraded to an omnivore since his last run-in with the leader of the Disciplinary Committee. 

A tonfa was swung his way, and, abandoning all pretense of uselessness, Tsuna swiftly evaded it. There was no use in acting around someone who had already guessed his true nature. Especially if it could save him the bruises and aches that inevitably came with the beating he would otherwise receive from the raven haired Prefect. He took a few steps back and held his hands up in defense.

“Wait a minute.” he said. “I know it was wrong of me to cut class and I’m ready to make up for it with extra homework or something, but could we not fight?”

The Prefect frowned, seemingly deep in thoughts. He eyed the brunet warily as if trying to decide if there was any valid reason why he should be lenient with the smaller teen. Tsuna took the boy’s silence as his cue to explain why he hadn’t attended his morning classes.

“I haven’t been feeling very well lately and accidentally slept in this morning.” he explained quickly.

He hoped that would satisfy the upperclassman as he couldn’t see himself explaining exactly what kind of sickness he had. It would be revealing a little too much about him. 

The brunet sweat-dropped as he saw the steel eyed boy raise his tonfas. Apparently, his reason hadn’t been good enough.

“How about…” he quickly looked for something that would stop the boy in his tracks. “How about I fight you once I’m better? A spar of sorts.”

The raven haired boy stilled.

“Hn.” he said after a moment of silence, lowering his weapons.

Tsuna heaved a sigh of relief. That had been a close one.

The sound of an explosion made him jump. Momentarily forgetting about the Prefect, he rushed to the railing and looked down at the school grounds. He quickly spotted the silhouettes of Sawada Ienari and of a silver haired boy. The latter took out sticks of dynamite which he threw at his…opponent. 

The brunet watched in surprise, as Ienari started running around like a headless chicken, shrieking loudly. 

“Herbivores.” growled the Prefect, glaring at the two teens below.

Tsuna jumped a little when he realized that the older boy was now standing next to him. The proximity was as sudden as unexpected. Surprisingly, the raven haired boy didn’t even seem to care that he was technically ‘crowding’. Or maybe two people weren’t counted as a ‘crowd’.

“REBORN!” yelled Sawada.

Tsuna looked down once more. The blonde was now running around putting out the dynamite with his bare hands. In his boxers. 

“I’ll bite them to death for disrupting the peace of Namimori.” growled Hibari as he marched towards the door, no doubt heading towards the duo.

Tsuna watched him leave with an amused smile before going back to watching the scene. The silver haired boy was now talking animatedly to a dumb-struck Ienari. Tsuna couldn’t hear the words said by the bomber but he could guess what it was all about from the extinguished sticks of dynamite lying around the intimidating teenager.

This, he thought as he witnessed the arrival of Hibari, was an unexpected development.

 

**Namimori Middle School, behind the school, Gokudera Hayato**

As soon as the bell rung signaling the end of classes for the day, Gokudera Hayato rushed out of the classroom. He walked quickly, glaring at those who were standing in his way. He wasn’t about to let these pathetic weaklings waste his time. He had an important appointment after all.

During lunch break, he had evaluated the future tenth boss of the Vongola Famiglia. The fight hadn’t been very serious. He had just thrown a bunch of dynamites around to see how the boy would react. He supposed the boss candidate had fared quite well as he had managed to win the fight (if you could call that a fight). Though, he had only done so thanks to Reborn’s interference. 

The silver haired boy rounded a corner, coming face to face with a familiar boy. 

“Caelum.” he greeted expressionlessly.

“Hayato.” answered the boy. “Come và? (How are you?)”

“Sto bene. E tu? (I’m fine. How about you?)”

The smaller boy smiled.

“I’ve been doing well.” he said casually, switching to Japanese.

The silver haired boy frowned, turning serious.

“Why did you leave so suddenly, Caelum?”

Caelum’s smile didn’t falter.

“I would have thought it was obvious.” he said his eyes flashing with something akin to irony.

The bomber gritted his teeth.

“What exactly are you planning?” he hissed.

The other boy shrugged.

“I have yet to decide that. But I thought long and hard about everything and I decided I didn’t have enough time to care about how others feel.” he said, his eyes suddenly becoming distant.

The silver haired boy observed the other intently. 

“Right.” he said at last. “I suppose I can’t really blame you for that.”

The frail boy smiled sadly, not looking at him.

“What about you Hayato? How was your meeting with Vongola the tenth?” asked the boy softly, turning a pair of warm brown eyes towards the other teen.

“Oh that…” sighed the bomber. “Well…”

_** At the time of the fight ** _ __

_Sawada Ienari had just finished extinguishing the dynamite that had fallen around him. He fell to his knees, thanking him profusely._

_“Good job, Baka-Nari.” said Reborn as he stepped out of the shadows. “You have won your first subordinate.”_

_“What?!” screeched the blonde._

_“The one who loses becomes the winner’s subordinate, it’s the rules.” explained the baby._

_The silver haired decided to remain silent. He didn’t particularly want to become the blonde’s subordinate, but as the baby had said: it was the rules._

_“I don’t want him. How could I trust him after he tried to kill me?” replied Ienari, looking disgusted._

_Despite his unwillingness to serve the blonde, the silver haired boy felt a bit hurt by the rejection. This certainly wasn’t the attitude a Boss should have._

_Reborn seemed to think along the same lines if his lowering his fedora to hide his eyes was any indication._

_“Herbivores.” the trio turned to face the newcomer. “I’ll bite you all to death for disturbing the peace.” growled the Prefect._

_“Hiiiieeee!”_

_With a loud scream, Ienari took off, closely followed by Gokudera._

** Back to the Present **

“He refused to make me his subordinate.” summarized the silver haired boy.

“I see.” said the teen softly, looking deep in thoughts. “Hayato, I’ve got a favor to ask of you…”

The bomber’s sea green eyes met Caelum’s, and he could see the weight of the smaller boy’s internal struggle. 

“What do you want me to do?” he asked, taking his decision.


	6. A light in the darkness

** Namimori Middle School, Sawa Tsunayoshi **

“Kawada.”

“Yes.”

“Kurihara.”

“Yes.”

Tsuna was fidgeting in his seat. Nezu-sensei was giving their science tests back and he felt nervous. After arriving in Namimori Middle School he realized he was really behind in his studies. He had never been a genius but he had somehow managed to do well thanks to his father tutoring him for most of his life. However, he had stopped studying as soon as he had started to live alone. For his defense he had had other things in mind at the time, surviving for example. Still, he felt a bit ashamed of his abysmal academic abilities and dreaded the grade that he was given on the science test. He didn’t need his Hyper Intuition to know that his self-respect would considerably drop in a few minutes.

“Kondo.”

“Yes.”

The worse part of it all was that the teacher just so happened to be Nezu, a stuck-up self-proclaimed elite who liked to point out his students’ stupidity. On top of that, Tsuna could feel Reborn’s presence nearby which only added to his shame. The situation couldn’t have been worse.

“Sawa.”

“Y-Yes!” he squeaked, his nervousness causing him to jump when his name was called.

Instead of handing him the test paper as he had done with the other students, Nezu snickered. Tsuna gulped.

“This is just hypothetically speaking, but…” started the teacher in a tone that let one expect the worst. “let’s just say there’s a sole student that scores in the twenty point range and painfully lowers the class average…”

Tsuna could feel his cheeks for the sheer embarrassment caused by the teacher’s implications.

“According to me, who’s come through an elite course…” continued the man. “That kind of person will just be baggage and a burden on the education-conscious society.”

_…You’re a burden, it would be best if you disappeared…_

Tsuna lowered his head, letting his bangs cover his eyes.

“Is there a reason for that kind of trash to live?” finished Nezu, triumphant.

_…You’re just trash. You don’t deserve to live…_

Tsuna’s hand was balled into a fist and was trembling slightly. 

The teacher didn’t seem to notice his student’s strange state as he slammed the test paper with a circled red ‘26’ at the top, on the boy’s desk.

“Next, Suzuki.” he said continuing to the next student.

Some of Tsuna’s classmates who had seen his grade started snickering amongst themselves. The brown haired boy clenched his fist, to the point of nearly piercing the skin with his nails. He forced himself to ignore everything around him and calm down. He couldn’t let himself be submerged by his demons. He couldn’t show weakness.

 

** Namimori Middle School, Gokudera Hayato **

From where he sat, Gokudera could see the boy’s face darkening before it was hidden by his bangs. His whole body was tensed and his hand was even trembling slightly. And by the whitening of his knuckles, the silver haired delinquent could tell the boy was clenching his hand tighter than he should. He wasn’t entirely sure if he had seen it or if he had imagined it, but he thought he’d seen the boy’s lips trembling slightly as well. 

His hands itched to hit the teacher. Somehow, it reminded him of that time when he and Caelum had been kidnapped. The man who had caught them had said similar things to his smaller friend.  
He didn’t know exactly why the boy had been so deeply affected by the man’s words, but he was aware of the boy’s painful past. It was something he had been warned about even before he first met Caelum as a child. His caretaker at the time had informed him of the boy’s circumstances and though he hadn’t given any details, he had said the boy had suffered a great deal during his early childhood. It didn’t show usually. 

Caelum had an unrivaled ability to appear well and cheerful no matter the circumstances. But sometimes, there would be signs, like the longing looks at mothers and their children or the palpable pain he sometimes let appear.

The silver haired teen clenched his teeth, forcing his eyes away from the frail figure of the brunet next to him. He hated not being able to help. He felt like he was betraying Caelum.

 

** Namimori Middle School, Kurokawa Hana **

Kurokawa Hana might be smart and she might look down on the monkeys that made up more than half of the class, but what she disliked even more than those monkeys was unfairness. And she felt that proclaiming Sawa’s uselessness in front of the entire class was unfair. 

She glanced at said boy, quickly noticing how tense he was. 

Nezu really had gone too far this time. Saying things like ‘is there a reason why you deserve to live?’. That was just wrong. Especially since Sawa was just one of the many idiots in the class. Yet, he was the only who was constantly picked on by the science teacher. The popular baseball-monkey was an idiot he if she ever saw one and he somehow escaped the teacher’s snarky comments. No, the more she thought about it, the more she disliked the man’s attitude. She didn’t care that he was elite. Some things were just not done!

 

**Namimori Middle School, after school, Sawa Tsunayoshi**

The brunet was sitting on a random desk, next to a window. The classes had ended a long time ago and the classroom was subsequently empty. 

Outside, the sky was slowly turning to pink as the sun gradually disappeared behind the faraway buildings. A lump had settled in Tsuna’s throat since that morning and now that he was alone he could feel the tears threatening to fall. But in all his stubbornness, he refused to show weakness and cry. He wouldn’t show weakness; that was what he had been taught. Anyway, it was useless to cry when the person who would console him wasn’t there.

He shook his head and started humming a song which he had heard a while ago. His voice was nothing special but he liked singing. He felt as if he was shouting his feelings to the world in a subtle manner. He liked it. For a moment he could forget about the bad things and just sing it all out. And there was a lot he wanted to say. 

He was greedy. And selfish. And he didn’t deserve what he had. He shouldn’t hope for more. But he was greedy. And he wanted more. He wanted to go back to how it was before. But he knew it was impossible. Things would be different no matter what. And the demons that lurked in the darkest corner of his mind made sure he didn’t forget that.

There were so many things he wished he could say…But would it be better if he did say them? Things would change. Of course they would. But would they be good changes? 

He hummed the last notes of the song, eyes looking in the distance.

“That’s a nice song.”

Tsuna jumped at the voice sounded from the other side of the classroom. He turned quickly, gaping at the dark-haired girl standing in the doorway.

“Ku-kurokawa-san?” he spluttered, blushing as he realized what the comment implied.

Slowly he recovered from the shock of not having felt the girl enter the room. He still had a long way to go if someone could surprise him so easily.

“Th-thank you.” he said quietly, finally registering what the girl had said.

The long haired girl just nodded in acknowledgment. She made her way to her own desk under the boy’s gaze and took her bag which had been left on the chair. That done, she made to leave.

“Wait!” said Tsuna as she grabbed the door.

She turned to look at him questioningly. The boy fidgeted under her scrutinizing gaze. He wasn’t sure why he had called her back but he felt there was something he should do. 

“Um….um…” he said trying to find what it was that he wanted to say.

The girl was growing impatient. 

“Listen, if you’re going to say something then just say it. Otherwise I’ll leave.” she snapped.

“Y-yes!” replied Tsuna automatically feeling as if he was facing a teacher. “Would you tutor me?” he added quickly.

The girl looked taken aback by his request. She was at least as shocked as he was.

“Erm…erm…that is…” he mumbled feeling uncomfortable.

“All right.” agreed the girl, surprising the both of them if the look on her face was any indication.

“R-really?” 

“Yes. I thought it was really unfair how Nezu treated you this morning, so I guess helping you get better grades is a way to get back at him.” she explained dismissively. 

“Th-Thank you, Kurokawa-san!”

“However,” she continued sternly. “I’m expecting you to work hard and do the exercises I give you.”

The boy gulped at the threatening aura emanating from the girl and nodded hurriedly.

“The lessons will be every day after class for one hour, don’t be late.” 

She turned on her heels.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Y-yes. S-see you tomorrow, Kurokawa-san.” answered the boy who still couldn’t quite believe he had managed to find a tutor.

A bright smile slowly made its way to the brunet’s lips. He had been given a chance to get better and he would make sure to take it. 

The last ray of sunshine came to envelope his back and he turned around to watch it slowly disappear with a smile on his lips.


	7. Fly or Fall

**Namimori Middle School, Sawada Ienari**

Nari sighed heavily as he took a broom out of the closet reserved for cleaning equipment. When Gokudera Hayato had enthusiastically announced that morning that he was going to replenish his stock of dynamite, the young mafia boss in training had thought it would be a quiet day. The bomber, taking no notice of his refusal to let him become his subordinate, had recently appointed himself as his bodyguard. He was extremely loud and it had been a relief for the blonde boy when he had learnt he would be gone for the day. But obviously quiet day didn’t necessarily mean a good one for here he was stuck sweeping the field by himself after PE class. Someone up there must hate him.

He was surprised to hear approaching footsteps and for a moment he dared hope the teacher was coming to tell him he could go home. He turned around.

“Help has arrived!” called Yamamoto Takeshi, carrying a broom on his shoulders.

“Yamamoto?!” he exclaimed bewildered.

Even though he and the baseball player had similar profiles (good in sports and generally popular but abysmal grades) they weren’t exactly friends. It wasn’t that they didn’t get along or anything. They just didn’t hang out together. Their groups of friends were different too.

“Thanks for helping me.” he said gratefully as the dark haired boy started sweeping alongside him.

“Don’t worry about it.” replied the taller boy. “Truth is I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Ienari glanced at his classmate, visibly surprised.

“Well, more like ask for advice really.” corrected the baseball player after thinking for a moment.

The raven haired boy’s jovial expression turned into a depressed one.

“Lately no matter how much I practice baseball my average keeps dropping and my fielding is horrible. At this rate I won’t even be a starter. Nari, what should I do?”

The blonde stayed speechless for a moment. He might be popular but no one had ever asked him for advice, especially not someone who was as talented as Yamamoto.

“Well…” he started racking his brain to find something sensible to say. “I guess, the only thing you can do is keep training. Your efforts are bound to be rewarded, right?”

He glanced at the taller boy feeling extremely uncertain.

“Yeah!” exclaimed Yamamoto sounding more like his usual self. “You know, I thought that was it too!”

The baseball player placed an arm around Nari’s neck, grinning broadly.

“Alright! Today I’m staying here and practicing like hell!”

The two boys then finished sweeping, talking amicably as they worked. Once they were done, they parted ways. Nari was going home while Yamamoto was going back on the field to train. 

From a second-floor window a pair of brown eyes watched the two boys part. The gaze turned thoughtful as he followed Yamomoto’s silhouette. A whack to his head made him turn away from the window.

“Sawa! If you’re not going to pay attention, I’ll stop helping you!” snapped Kurokawa Hana at the brunet sitting opposite her.

“S-sorry, Kurokawa-san. I’ll pay attention.” said the boy hurriedly, going back to his exercises.

Kurokawa could be scary when she wanted to. 

 

** The following day, Namimori Middle School, Roof, Sawa Tsunayoshi **

Loyal to what was quickly becoming a tradition, Tsuna had left the classroom for lunch break and gone to the roof. He had already eaten his bento and was now standing next to the railing, looking at the city down below. The door’s creaking announced a visitor and that, thought Tsuna, was also becoming customary.

He was surprised to see that it wasn’t Hibari Kyouya but Yamamoto Takeshi who had stepped onto the roof. The boy looked equally surprised to see him but quickly went back to looking somber and depressed. 

Tsuna noticed that the boy’s arm was in a sling. There seemed to be something wrong with the boy and the emptiness in his eyes told Tsuna what his aim in coming here might be.

“What are you doing here, Sawa?” asked the baseball player, sounding harsher than he meant to be.

The brunet took no offense at the tone employed (partly because he was used to it) and smiled at the newcomer.

“I often come to the roof. When I stand next to the railing I feel somewhat closer to the sky and the sun.” he confided, turning back towards said railing. “It’s like I’m already half-floating in the sky, it’s exhilarating.”

While he was talking, Yamamoto had come to stand next to him and was looking curiously at the emptiness beyond the railing.

“Sometimes, I think it would be so much easier to actually jump. I’d fly for a moment and fall asleep forever. It would only hurt for an instant and then I would forget what pain even was.” he lifted his eyes towards the sky. “But you know, if I did that…”

He trailed off, his eyes turning to infinite sadness for the briefest of moments. Catching his breath and doing his best to ignore Yamamoto’s curious expression, he continued.

“If I did that, I’d never be able to see my dad again. And I…” he choked on the words and had to take another deep breath before he could continue. “I can’t do it. In the end, I still want to be with Papa, no matter how painful life gets.”

He paused and looked into the baseball players eyes. He could see understanding in the boy’s eyes and he was glad that he had managed to remind the boy of what was important.

“Isn’t it the same for you Yamamoto-san?” he asked smiling, with just a hint of sadness. “Isn’t your father very important?”

“Yeah…Yeah he is.” replied the dark haired boy.

Silence fell between the two of them as they continued gazing into the distance.

“Thanks Sawa.” murmured Yamamoto after a while.

“You’re welcome.” replied the brunet sounding a lot more cheerful than before.

The baseball player smiled at him before turning on his heels and walking towards the door. He stopped just before he reached it.

“Hey, Sawa…Your father…” Yamamoto seemed unsure of how to ask his question and fidgeted.

The brunet, who had turned around, smiled at him, the shadows created by his bangs hiding the rest of his face.

“Right now, we can’t live together anymore. But I’m sure one day we will be able to.” 

Yamamoto’s eyes widened at the confession, he hadn’t expected the brunet to trust him enough to answer the question he had meant to ask. Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded once before leaving the roof. 

As he walked down the stairs towards the classroom, he thought about how foolish he had been to even think about dying. Sawa obviously had his own set of troubles and he wasn’t jumping, was he? He had been an idiot.

Back on the roof, Tsuna fell back against the railing. Now he had done it. He had talked too much. Reborn hadn’t been around at least. 

He rubbed his sleeve against his eyes as if to wipe away inexistent tears and took out his small metallic case.

“One day, for sure.” he promised softly as he caressed the photo.

He leaned more heavily against the railing, placing the flat box back into his pocket. He realized a second later that this had been a mistake as the wire fence suddenly gave way behind him, causing him to fall back into emptiness. His eyes widened as he lost his footing. He squeezed them shut as he felt his body be taken over by gravity, preparing for the long and lethal fall, when a strong hand gripped his wrist and pulled him back to safety. Tsuna found himself falling the other way. He collided with his savior and both boys fell to the floor. 

The brunet opened his eyes again to look at a white shirt. He lifted his head up and came face to face with a raven haired boy whose bangs fell between his silver eyes, narrowed into a ferocious glare.

“Hi-Hibari-san?” he squeaked disbelievingly.

He suddenly noticed that he was lying on the Prefect, his face an inch away from the other boy’s. Slightly panicky, he hurriedly rolled off his upperclassman, letting him sit up. The raven haired boy didn’t comment. He simply got up, dusted his clothes and walked away. 

“Ah, Hibari-san!” called Tsuna getting to his feet as well. “Thank you for saving me.” he told the Prefect who had paused to hear what he had to say.

“Hn.” replied the taller boy before leaving the roof.

 

** Meanwhile, Yamamoto Takeshi and Sawada Ienari **

When Yamamoto entered the classroom, he was immediately joined by Nari. 

“Hey, Yamamoto, how are you feeling?” asked the blonde with a worried expression. “I heard you broke your arm while training yesterday…” he trailed off.

“No worries I’m fine!” reassured the baseball player with a wide grin. “I won’t be playing for a while, but well…I guess I’m just going to have to take a break. It’s no big deal.”

His blonde classmate looked immensely relieved by the announcement.

“Yeah, a break might do you good, too.” he said, nodding enthusiastically. “There’s nothing like a change of pace from time to time!”

Yamamoto slapped the other boy’s back with his remaining arm while laughing.

“Exactly! I’ll rest and come back even stronger!”

The two boys continued chatting eagerly until the bell rang, announcing the start of the afternoon classes. They left for their respective seats, with a promise to hang out after school that evening. 

As he sat down, Ienari felt that he had finally gained a true friend. Reborn who had seen the whole scene from outside the window was more thinking along the lines of ‘family member acquired’ but the blonde mafia boss in training didn’t know that. Not yet, at least…

 

** Namimori Middle School, Tsuna and Kurokawa Hana **

“Did something good happen to you today?” asked the dark haired girl as she looked at the smiling brunet sitting opposite her.

The boy looked up from his exercise sheets.

“No, not really.” he said cheerfully.

She narrowed her eyes, visibly not believing his words. She decided to drop the subject anyway.

“Where do you usually eat lunch?” she asked in a business-like tone.

“Eh?” the brunet blinked a few times apparently surprised by the sudden question. “The roof but…”

The raven haired girl cut him off with a nod.

“Then tomorrow, me and Kyoko will come to eat with you.” she announced. “You have no complaints, right?”

The tone sounded somewhat threatening and Tsuna found himself gulping apprehensively as he hurriedly shook his head.

“Erm…” 

“What?” snapped the girl, annoyed by the boy’s fidgeting. 

“I’d rather you called me Tsuna instead of Sawa.” said the boy tentatively, looking away from his tutor’s narrowed eyes.

“Fine. But I have one condition.” brown eyes flickered back to the girl. “You have to call me by name as well. Got it?”

The teen looked immensely relieved as he nodded his head hastily.


	8. A rival has appeared

**Namimori, Sawada Household, Sawada Ienari**

The Sawada family plus one, were gathered in the dining room for breakfast. Ienari was wolfing down his meal while Reborn was elegantly sipping his espresso and Nana was reading a leaflet.   
“It seems there’s a major promotion at the supermarket today.” she said lightly. “It’s a pity I can’t go. I already promised Meiko-chan I would go and have tea with her.”

The hitman had momentarily stopped drinking his coffee to look up at the brown haired woman, his face unreadable. The woman seemed to notice the baby’s scrutiny as she looked up to meet the beady black eyes. When their gazes met she smiled sweetly at the infant.

“Maa, it doesn’t really matter.” she said, putting the leaflet away.

Despite her cheerful front, Reborn could see the hint of regret in her eyes as she put the paper in one of the drawers. The infant glanced at his student who was visibly ignoring his mother. Reborn smirked.

“Don’t worry, Mamma. Baka-Nari will go shopping for you.” he said taking a sip of his coffee.

This seemed to catch the blonde’s attention as he looked up at Reborn eyes wide with bewilderment.

“WHAT?! I don’t have time to lose with shop…”

With a murderous glare, Reborn silenced his students.

“You’ll do it right, Baka-Nari?” he asked, oozing murderous intent as he stared pointedly at the boy.

The blonde’s mouth shut with a noticeable click and he nodded hastily. Nana clapped her hands together happily.

“Really? That’s so nice of you Na-kun!” she exclaimed brightly. “I’ll leave it to you, then.”

The suit-wearing baby smirked as he watched Nari shrink back and mumble under his breath. It was about time that boy started helping his mother a little. Reborn had had more than enough of his angsty teenager attitude. Especially since Nana was the kindest and sweetest person he had ever met. Or maybe not…Something was telling him he had met someone who was even kinder than the woman, but he couldn’t seem to remember who it was. Luce, maybe? 

He shrugged the thought away. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he had just gained a free evening. An Ienari-free evening, that was.

 

**After classes, streets, Sawa Tsunayoshi**

Tsuna was heading home as Hana had cancelled their evening class, saying something important had come up. He had therefore waved the girl goodbye as she left in a hurry before following her out of the school at a slower pace. The announcement had put him in a good mood. Not that he disliked Hana’s lessons, though he did dislike studying in general, but having a day off was always welcomed. Unfortunately, it seemed that he was not to enjoy that evening as much as he had first thought.

As soon as he had passed the school gates, he had detected a presence that had been following him ever since. He had quickly guessed who it was. There was only one person he knew who would stalk him on his way home. Incidentally, he wasn’t keen on having that person know where he lived. It did not take a genius’ mind to know that this would mean nothing good for the future. He therefore walked as slowly as he could, trying to come up with a solution. He finally decided he would make a detour. That way, his stalker might get bored and leave (though deep down he realized that was probably just wishful thinking). 

He decided that his first stop would be the supermarket. He remembered there was a special promotion today, and to poor people like him, promotions were a gift from heaven. Originally, he had thought he wouldn’t be able to go since he had his lesson but since he didn’t he was free to go. His decision made he set off towards the local supermarket.

As expected, it was very packed, though he would hazard the guess that it had been even busier during the afternoon when all the housewives would have come to do their shopping. Avoiding the better part of the crowd meant that there wasn’t much left in the shop though. Fortunately, Tsuna had the advantage of not needing much in the first place. He lived alone after all. 

He stepped out of the supermarket about half an hour later. For a few minutes, he thought that his stalker might have left as he couldn’t feel his presence. His hopes were quickly crushed however by the sudden reappearance of said presence. Sighing he decided he might as well head home. If he had followed him this far he probably wouldn’t give up. Not to mention it would be suspicious to go anywhere with that many shopping bags. Plus, he had milk that needed to be put into the fridge. 

The brunet made his way back slowly, as he still had the faint hope that his stalker would leave before he reached his home. It wouldn’t look too weird for him to walk slowly as he was carrying quite a few heavy bags. People would assume that the weight was slowing him down.

Luck didn’t seem to be on his side that day, because the stalker hadn’t faltered when he arrived at the modest building in which he lived. He climbed the outdoor staircase up to the second floor. He walked over to the last door and carefully placed his bags on the floor to look for his keys. Once he had found them he unlocked the door and carried everything inside. 

His apartment was rather small. There was a sitting room, which he used as a sitting and dining room, with a small kitchen on the side. A door at the back of the room led to a small corridor from which one could get to the bedroom on the left and the bathroom on the right. It wasn’t much but it was cheap and good enough for a lone boy. 

He unloaded his bags and put everything away in the few cupboards that made up his kitchen and into the small fridge. It had barely been five minutes since he had entered his home when the doorbell rang as he expected it would. He sighed and straightened himself, closing the fridge in which he had just placed the milk and the eggs. In a few strides he got to the door. He took a moment to apply a suitably curious expression on his face before opening the door.

“Ciaossu.” said the baby standing on his doorstep.

“Reborn!” exclaimed Tsuna in fake surprise. “What are you doing here? Isn’t Sawada-kun with you?” he asked looking around, as if he was looking for a sign of the blonde boy.

“He’s shopping for Mamma.” said the baby, walking past Tsuna and entering the small room.

Trying to ignore the fact that the baby had just invited himself inside, the brunet closed the door and followed the baby inside.

“Would you like something to drink?” he enquired motioning to the baby to sit on one of the cushions around the low table. 

“Espresso.” replied the baby.

Of course. How dumb of him to ask.

Acting as if infants requested black coffees from every day, he got started on the drink.

“So what are you doing here, Reborn?” he asked once more, genuinely curious as to why the baby was here instead of being with Ienari.

“Since Kurokawa Hana can’t tutor tonight, I’m replacing her.” announced the suit-wearing kid.

Tsuna sweat-dropped. He would be ready to bet an arm Reborn had had something to do with Kurokawa’s urgent business.

“E-Eeeeeeh….” he said dragging the sound, showing his disbelief. “W-well that’s very kind of you, Reborn.” he said at last, carrying the cup of coffee to the table.

He placed the cup in front of the baby and went to retrieve his school bag. 

“Well, I’ll just do my homework and you can look it over.” he suggested as if he was indulging into a child’s game.

Reborn said nothing but started sipping his coffee. Tsuna took out his school work and got started on the exercises. He had math that night, which was easily his worse subject. If he had an affinity with languages, he simply couldn’t understand numbers. As he was racking his brain over a particularly hard problem and started writing an answer, Leon transformed into a hammer which Reborn used to hit Tsuna on   
the head.

“Idiot. That answer is wrong Dame-Tsuna.” said the baby. 

“There’s no need to hit me…” mumbled the boy, looking sideways.

He gaped as what he saw through the window. A kid wearing a cow disguise was perched on a tree’s branch and was pointing a gun at them. Tsuna hurriedly went to open the window so that the windowpane, at least, would be saved.

“Die Reborn!” exclaimed the cow preparing to pull the trigger.

“First, the target will be this number.” said Reborn continuing with his lesson as if nothing had happened. 

“Reborn, there’s a weird kid outside.” said Tsuna sounding a little frantic. 

“Take that!” shouted the kid and pressed the trigger.

A click sounded but no bullet shot out of the gun. The brat looked surprised but soon started recharging the weapon. While he was busy doing this, the branch started cracking sinisterly. Under Tsuna’s bemused gaze, the branch gave way under the boy’s weight and the both of them fell. The brunet hurried to the window, intent on checking on the cow-child.

“To-le-rate.” muttered the kid on the ground, tears already streaming down his face.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Tsuna turned back to Reborn who hadn’t bothered acknowledging the child’s presence. He was about to tell the infant off for ignoring the other but was stopped by the doorbell. Sighing he went to open the door. As soon as he did, the cow-kid rushed inside. 

“Gahahah! Success!” he laughed as he entered the room. “Long time no see, Reborn! It’s me Lambo.”

“R-Reborn, do you know him?” asked Tsuna, unsure of what he was supposed to do in case of cow invasion. 

“Remember this formula.” said the baby hitman pointing to a complex line of numbers.

“Eh?” 

“Hey, don’t ignore me! I’ll kill you dammit!” yelled the kid rushing forward holding a knife.

Without looking, Reborn made a gesture similar to swatting a mosquito away, thus sending the so-called Lambo crashing into the wall.

“A-are you okay?” asked Tsuna, sweat-dropping at Reborn’s violence.

“Oh…That hurts…I must have tripped on something…” muttered the kid as he slowly got up.

He sat with tears flowing freely down his chubby cheeks.

“I, Lambo-san, five years old, from Italy, a hitman from the Bovino Famiglia, tripped!” he announced loudly while crying. “Favorite foods are grape and candy, and I, Lambo-san, who first met Reborn in a bar, tripped!”

Tsuna didn’t know what to say as he watched the kid who was apparently trying to introduce himself while crying his eyes out.

“With that formula, solve this.” said Reborn, completely ignoring the other hitman.

Tsuna glanced from Reborn to Lambo, wondering if he should help the boy. When he glanced back at the fedora-wearing baby, he gulped. Gun-Leon was pointed threateningly at him.

“Uh, yeah.” 

He bent down on his exercise book, watching Lambo out of the corner of his eye.

“Ara, what’s this?” asked Lambo in a sing-song voice rummaging in his black afro. 

“A-A HAND GRENADE!” shrieked Tsuna as he caught sight of the pink weapon Lambo had just taken out. “W-Wait Lambo! Don’t throw this here! Reborn’s just being mean!”

The cow-kid looked suddenly relieved that someone was finally paying attention to him. 

“Reborn! You know him, right? Be nice to him!” said Tsuna angrily turning to the infant.

“I don’t know him.” replied the hitman. “Either way if it’s the Bovino Famiglia, they’re a rather small group. I don’t associate with people who rank lower than me.”

Tsuna felt a sudden wave of inexplicable anger wash over him and he lowered his head, letting his bangs cover his eyes. His fist resting on the table was trembling slightly.

“Then…THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ASSOCIATING WITH ME?!” he yelled suddenly, looking up, revealing his features twisted in anger.

He quickly turned away from the hitman, letting his bangs cover his face once again.

“Come on Lambo.” he said gently, as he picked the boy up. “I’ll give you some candy. You like those, right?”

Lambo just nodded, seemingly understanding that the nice boy carrying him was feeling sad. Reborn watched them leave, tilting his fedora to hide his beady black eyes from view.


	9. Sleepover Mafia Style

**Sawa Tsunayoshi’s Apartment, Reborn**

Reborn heard a door slam. He assumed it was Tsuna’s bedroom’s door. He gritted his teeth, cursing the brunet under his breath. Why did he have to get upset? It wasn’t like Reborn had been talking about him. He hadn’t said anything wrong. It was Dame-Tsuna who was in the wrong.

So then, why was he feeling so much guilt? For a moment, when Tsuna had yelled at him, he had caught a glimpse of the boy’s eyes. Instead of their usual dull brown, they had been a bright orange. Not only that, they had reflected a complicated mix of emotions which he wasn’t sure he understood. His heart squeezed as he recalled the boy’s pained look. Maybe, just maybe, he had been a little wrong. Still, it didn’t warrant such a strong reaction. It was as if the boy had been personally insulted, which he hadn’t been. The boy wasn’t even in the mafia so there was no question of rank for him. Plus, it wasn’t like they were friends or anything. Sure he enjoyed the kid’s company, but that didn’t mean he was less violent with him than with others…Okay, maybe he was a bit softer with the brunet. But the boy wasn’t his student nor did he work with him. He didn’t have any reason to hit him as much as the others.

Anyway, why this strong reaction? Reborn didn’t know the answer to that question and it annoyed him to no end. 

This boy, Tsuna, kept surprising him. There was something mysterious about him. As if he was keeping some big secret. But at the same time, he was Dame-Tsuna: bad at everything, clumsy, plain-looking, shy and dull. There was nothing interesting about him, he was easy to understand. And yet, when he observed the boy Reborn felt like he was looking at a blurry photo. He could see the general outline but not the details. It was annoying.

Getting to his feet, Reborn walked towards the bedroom, determined to make the boy see some sense.

**Sawa Tsunayoshi’s Apartment, Tsuna and Lambo**

“I’m pretty sure I had some grape candy around here…” said Tsuna as he fumbled in his wardrobe.

He had sat Lambo on his bed and was looking for the promised candy. The cow-patterned kid was looking around silently, strangely well-behaved.

“Found it!” exclaimed the brunet at last, taking out a purple bag.

He went to sit on the bed next to Lambo and ripped the bag open.

“Here you go.” he said presenting it to the child.

With a squeal of delight the kid grabbed a handful of candy and put in his mouth. Tsuna chuckled as he watched the child stuff his face with sweets.

“Your name is Lambo, right? I’m Tsuna.” said the brunet conversationally as he started petting the boy’s head. “Lambo, how did you meet Reborn?”

The kid looked up, his green eyes finding Tsuna’s brown gaze.

“Lambo-san’s Boss had decided to bring Lambo-san to the bar for the first time.” started the child. “Lambo-san sat at the counter with Reborn. We talked a lot. Reborn was blowing bubbles out of his nose and Lambo-san was eating candy…”

He had been sleeping, Tsuna realized as he heard about Reborn’s so-called bubble-blowing. 

“Later, Boss told Lambo-san to kill Reborn.” said Lambo eating yet another candy.

Tsuna frowned. Telling a five-year old to kill the world’s number one hitman, wasn’t that the same as telling him to go and get killed? 

“Lambo, do you have a family?” asked the brunet worriedly.

“The Bovino is Lambo-san’s family.” replied Lambo. “What about Tsuna?”

The brunet froze, momentarily stopping his petting.

“W-well…I…” his hand started moving again slowly. “I used to have a Dad, but he doesn’t know me anymore. So I guess I don’t have a family, now.” he ended with a humorless chuckle.

“Jaaa,” said Lambo looking at him excitedly. “Tsuna can be in Lambo-san’s family!”

Tsuna smiled adoringly at the child.

“Thank you, Lambo.” he said hugging the small boy.

At that moment, the door swung open. Reborn entered the room, raising his gun.

“You look like you’re having fun.” he said darkly, preparing to shoot.

“Re-Reborn!” squeaked Tsuna, hurriedly moving in between the gun and Lambo. 

For some unfathomable reason, the fedora-wearing killer lowered his gun, settling for an annoyed click of his tongue. He turned away preparing to leave but froze in his tracks when he heard Lambo’s words.

“Ano ne, Tsuna. Since we’re family, I’m going to live here now.” announced the cow-child.

The brunet sweat-dropped. Surely he hadn’t been planning that from the start, right?

A chill suddenly ran down his back and he glanced at Reborn from who seemed to be emanating a dark aura.

“Oi, Dame-Tsuna.” said the suit-wearing baby. “It’s too late for me to go home so I’ll be spending the night here.”

“HIEEEEE?!”

_ **Later that evening** _

“All right, now be careful, it’s hot.” warned Tsuna as he presented the children with a plate of curry each.

They were all sitting around the low table for dinner. 

After much deliberation and fighting between the two kids, Tsuna had decided to cook curry for the night’s dinner. Cooking with both Lambo and Reborn in the house had been quite an ordeal but he had managed somehow. In between trying to stop them from using weapons inside the house and blowing everything up…

He served a plate for himself and sat down to eat. He raised his spoon to his lips, blowing on the food to cool it down, keeping watch on the two children. He kept an eye on Lambo as he was worried that the child wouldn’t listen to him and burn himself. 

The reason why he watched Reborn was rather different though. Out of the corner of his eye, he was watching for the baby’s reaction. Reborn was most likely used to delicious meals and he was a bit anxious about whether his curry tasted good or not. He lived alone after all, so he wouldn’t know what his cooking was worth. 

Unfortunately, Reborn’s expression remained as blank as ever and he finally decided to ask.

“S-so…Is-is it good?” he asked, stuttering a little from nervousness.

“Lambo-san loves Tsuna’s cooking!” announced the cow-kid loudly.

“Thank you, Lambo.” answered the brunet with a grateful smile.

The fedora-wearing hitman remained silent for a while.

“Not bad, Dame-Tsuna.” he said after a while.

Tsuna gave him a dazzling smile and Reborn’s lips did not quirk upwards. They didn’t.

_ **After dinner** _

“L-Lambo! Don’t run around naked!” exclaimed Tsuna as he ran after the cow-kid.

They had just gotten out of the bath and Lambo who was very amused by the towels’ fluffiness had decided to start running around covering himself with the white towel in an attempt to make himself look like a ghost.

“Reborn! Don’t use your gun inside!” he shouted as he saw the infant pointing Gun-Leon at Lambo.

The hitman clicked his tongue but did as he was told. He had taken off his suit and fedora and was now wearing black silk pajamas, his spiky black hair left free. It was somewhat amazing that Reborn managed to look so elegant at all times even though he was just a baby, thought Tsuna as he glanced at the dark haired infant. He then looked at the other child.

Lambo had cow-print pajamas which Tsuna was currently forcing him into. He finally finished preparing the child for bed and shortly left to tidy the bathroom. 

“Now, bed!” he said sternly as he re-entered the bedroom a minute later. “I’ve got school tomorrow and it’s already late.”

He climbed into his bed, closely followed by Lambo who nestled against him. It didn’t last long though as Reborn arrived and kicked Lambo off the bed, stealing his place next to Tsuna.

“Reborn!” scolded the brunet, gently swatting the hitman’s head. “Come on, Lambo, you can sleep on my other side.”

The five-year old climbed onto the bed once more, trying to hold back his tears.

“To-le-rate.” he said as he slid beneath the sheets on Tsuna’s other side.

The brunet smiled and gave the boy’s afro a gentle pat.

“Goodnight Lambo. Goodnight Reborn.”

“Goodnight Tsuna.” replied Lambo as he snuggled closer to the older boy.

Reborn didn’t answer: he was already sleeping; his eyes wide open and a bubble blowing out of his nose.


	10. Poisonous Beauty

** Namimori, In the streets, Sawada Ienari **

The blonde boy had been asked to go and buy a few things his mother had forgotten to get when she had gone shopping. He was currently on his way back, sweating profusely because of the heat. It was already summer and the temperature gad gone up drastically in the last few days.

“Aaah! It’s so hot!” he groaned wiping some sweat of his brow with his arm. “And I’m so thirsty.”

He really should have bought something to drink while he was at the shop. It wasn’t like he didn’t have the money for it. He sighed heavily. It was too late for that now though. He would just have to take it like a man. 

At that moment, a bike’s bell rang behind him. Out of habit, he turned around. A woman was riding it, wearing a helmet and gloves. Nari lifted an eyebrow. Now that was weird. It wasn’t rare to see people riding bikes in Japan, but most people didn’t wear a helmet let alone gloves. It wasn’t like she was riding a motorbike…Rather, didn’t she feel hot wearing those gloves? He felt hot just looking at her…

The woman came to a stop a few feet away from him and took off her helmet, releasing long pink hair. 

She was very pretty, thought Ienari as he watched the girl with more interest than before. She looked foreign, maybe she was half-japanese?

Further thoughts were interrupted by the woman as she threw a can of soda to him.

“Have this if you like.” she said before cycling away.

Unluckily, Nari didn’t react in time and the can fell to the ground. It opened and the liquid flowed out of it. The blonde muttered a curse as he bent down to pick up the can. As he did, he noticed the drink was somewhat purple…While he reflected on the beverage’s weird color a crow that had been flying overhead dropped to the ground with a squawk. Gulping, the boy shot up fearfully and hurried away, leaving both drink and dead bird behind. 

Pretty girls nowadays were dangerous and not in the way he had first believed.

 

**_Further away, Bianchi_ **

The pink haired woman had stopped further away, up on the hill. From where she stood she could see the blonde boy to whom she had given the can of soda. Holding her binoculars to her eyes she watched her victim’s actions like a hawk. She clicked her tongue when she saw he wasn’t picking the can after he had dropped it. Stupid boy! His clumsiness had made her plan fail. Well she still had plan B…

She put away her binoculars, preparing to leave when she felt a familiar foreboding presence behind her. She turned around swiftly, jumping to a guarded stance as if it was second nature, clenching her hands into fists.

“Caelum.” she said through gritted teeth, her grey eyes flashing with dislike.

 

** Namimori, Caelum and Bianchi **

“I see you still haven’t gotten rid of your bad habit of trying to kill anyone who gets close to Reborn.” remarked the teenage boy casually as he approached the pink haired woman.

He stopped once he was just a few feet away from her and smirked.

“Are you that desperate for his attention?” he asked.

The woman scowled, her beautiful features twisting into a scary expression.

“Caelum.” she said, her tone threatening.

“Oh dear! Such a scary expression!” exclaimed the boy mockingly taking a step back and raising his hands in front of him in defense. 

“What do you want?” snapped the pink haired woman.

“What do I want?” echoed the teen. “Nothing much. Just thought we could have a chat. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, after all.” he answered smoothly.

This made the woman smirk as she saw an opening.

“Oh! That’s right!” she exclaimed faking sweetness and clapping her hands as if she had just remembered something. “You haven’t been able to be with Reborn for the last three years, have you?”

Caelum gave the woman’s triumphant smile a sideway glance.

“Indeed.” he said, his smile never faltering. “Then again, you haven’t been by his side for the last two years, either.” he added, wiping the smile of the woman’s face. “At least, I don’t act like a desperate love-sick puppy.”

“Then why are you here?” asked the woman coldly, grey eyes narrowing into a glare.

The teen didn’t reply immediately. He walked towards the edge of the platform they were standing on, the woman’s eyes following him all the while.

“Well,” he said slowly. “There are various reasons.”

He looked up at the blue sky overhead, smiling sadly. The woman’s eyes widened briefly and she looked down. Her expression softened into sympathy. Sometimes she hated herself for being so quick to leave her anger behind in presence of the boy.

“Have you been…okay?” she asked softly, her worried eyes settling on the boy’s frail back.

The boy turned around. He was still smiling but it looked a bit strained.

“I’d like to say I’m fine but…” he looked away from the woman in front of him. “In all honesty, I can only say that I’ve been surviving.”

“Caelum…”

“It’s alright. I’ve already gotten used to the idea that I might…” he trailed off, eyes becoming distant.

“Caelum, if there’s anything I can do…” said the woman, her fierce expression showing that she refused to accept his words.

The teen looked at her, showing a mildly surprised expression. At last, he smiled.

“You’d actually help me?” he asked teasingly. “Even though I’m your love rival?” 

The woman flushed.

“Idiot! That has nothing to do with it! If you died, Reborn would…”

The boy’s laugh cut her off. There was a hint of desperation in the way he laughed. Her heart squeezed as she realized the reason. Right now, if Caelum died Reborn wouldn’t even notice.

“Bianchi, I’m teasing you!” he told her crossing the distance between them.

He raised his hand and ruffled her hair. The woman pouted, her cheeks still red.

“There’s something wrong about the way you treat me like a child, even though I’m older than you are.” she muttered.

The teen just laughed.

“Sure, whatever you say.” he said as if agreeing to a kid’s whim. “Thanks anyway, Bianchi.”

The last words were said softly as he walked away. The pink haired girl watched him leave, sadness invading her eyes. Shaking her head she grabbed her bike and mounted it. As she cycled away she inwardly cursed the boy named Caelum for being so damn difficult to hate. She occupied her brain with the insults, trying to ignore the painful lump in her throat.

 

**Namimori Middle School, Sawa Tsunayoshi**

Tsuna watched from the doorway as the girls who had just had home economics class presented their cooking to the boys. He hadn’t joined them as he had spent most of the day in the nurse’s office and had just come back. He watched with slight amusement as a pink haired woman slipped through the crowd and deftly replaced Sasagawa Kyoko’s rice balls with another dish which looked a lot less appetizing. 

No one, save Sawada Ienari, seemed to notice her and Tsuna couldn’t help but chuckle at the face the blonde was pulling when the Kyoko offered him the purplish rice balls.

His amusement was cut short by a strong coughing fit, which left him trembling and grimacing. Clenching his fist, he turned away from the classroom and walked back to where he had just come from: the nurse’s office. 

He didn’t get far before he was forced to stop by another coughing fit. This left him breathless and he had to lean against the wall for a little while to catch his breath. Once he felt steady enough, he continued walking towards his destination, his hand slipping into his pocket to grab the plastic box resting there. 

He had to hold on a little while longer. Just a little longer.

 

** Sawada Household, Ienari, Reborn and Bianchi **

“Reborn!”

Ienari twitched as the crazy woman who had been trying to kill him all day long (her last attempt having been a poisonous pizza) entered his room and ran towards the hitman. She embraced him, cheeks flushed in happiness.

“Ciaossu, Bianchi.” replied the suit-wearing infant.

“I’ve come to take you back, Reborn.” said the woman releasing the baby. “Let’s do another big job together.”

“I already told you Bianchi.” said Reborn with his usual blank expression. “I was given the job to raise Baka-Nari so I can’t.”

“My poor Reborn!” cooed the woman, with teary eyes. “Unless the tenth dies by some kind of accident, you won’t be free.”

“WHAT?!” yelled the blonde boy who had been watching the scene, while twitching uncontrollably.

“But don’t worry! I’ll make sure to send him to the other world.” she promised while looking at the infant lovingly.

“You can’t do that either.” said the infant. “If he dies it’ll reflect badly on me.”

“Stop talking as if I wasn’t there. And what the hell is with you, Reborn?” snapped Ienari. “What do you mean by ‘it’ll reflect badly on you’? Shouldn’t you be more concerned about me?”

The baby seemed to finally deem his student worthy of his attention and turned towards him.

“No, not really.” he replied, the picture of innocence.

The blonde teen was preparing to yell at his tutor when his mother called them for dinner. With a glare at Reborn, the boy left the room, slamming the door behind him.

The pink haired woman, who had grabbed Reborn and placed him on her knees at some point, watched the boy leave with obvious disinterest. Seeing her beloved Reborn had reminded her of the conversation she had had that morning with another teenager. She was so deep in thoughts that she didn’t even react upon the fact that she was in a room alone with her love interest. 

She was called back to reality when the baby wiggled free of her embrace and walked towards the door.

“We should go as well, Bianchi.” said the hitman.

“Ah! Reborn!” called the pink haired woman without thinking.

The hitman turned towards her.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Do you…do you remember someone called Caelum?” she asked hesitantly.

The fedora-wearing infant looked at her blankly for a moment.

“I don’t know anyone like that.” he answered at last before leaving the room.

“I see.” said the young woman to the empty room. “So you really don’t remember then.” she added barely above a whisper.

After a moment, she got to her feet. She forced herself to regain some composure, swallowing back tears of frustration that had been refusing to fall for the past years, before heading downstairs for dinner. 

But no matter how many times she told herself that Caelum’s issues had nothing to do with her, she couldn’t get rid of that annoying lump in her throat.


	11. The Clock Is Ticking

** Namimori Middle School, Nurse’s office, Shamal **

Doctor Shamal was a well-known hitman who went by the name ‘Trident Shamal’. He was also renowned for his skills as a doctor. Some would argue that what he was really known for was the fact that he only treated woman but that was a detail. The point was that, he, Trident Shamal, a handsome dark haired middle-aged man if he said so himself, was the new nurse of Namimori Middle School. This decision had nothing to do with the large number of young females wearing short skirts, of course not. He had agreed to take the position so that he would be able to keep an eye on the tenth boss of Vongola’s health and for other private reasons. 

This reflected the man as he finished putting away his belongings in his new office, was the sole reason for his coming to the school. Really, it had nothing to do with the school girls. Nothing.

Though, it was a nice addition. After all, he had decided to study medicine so that he could examine women thoroughly. And he wouldn’t deny that examining teenage girls was a lot more exciting than examining elderly grandmothers. 

But that was not the reason he had come to Japan. No. He had come after being called by Reborn (though he had already been on his way there before he got the call, for his own personal reasons). The hitman had asked him to heal his student who had gotten the Skull Disease after being shot with the Dying Will Bullet one too many times. He had been tempted to refuse. In fact, he had refused. It wasn’t just because the tenth was a boy, even he wasn’t that irresponsible. No. It had to do with the fact that he didn’t like the boy as a person, didn’t like the boy’s father and that Reborn wasn’t entirely in his good graces anymore. All in all, the boy just associated with the wrong people.

When he thought about it, it was all because of one person. The same person for whom he had come all the way from Italy to Japan, in a hurry. Even his becoming a nurse in the school was for that idiot. 

Sometimes the doctor asked himself why he went to such pains for the boy. Because that was the whole point wasn’t it? He was a boy. And Shamal usually didn’t treat boys. The only other exception had been his student, Gokudera Hayato and even then it was only when the boy’s injuries were life-threatening. Compared to that, there was no particular reason for him to care about the boy named Caelum. 

He was just another boy with exceptional bad luck. One who had been born in the wrong family with the wrong body. One who seemed to be hated by fate. 

He supposed he had just taken pity on the boy. It was a fact that the boy had had the worse happen to him repeatedly and he still wasn’t at the end of the tunnel. Maybe he had gotten attached because of the boy’s kindness, or was it his smile? He didn’t know. 

Whatever it was, it didn’t really matter. In the end it wouldn’t change the fact that Caelum was one of the rare people, furthermore males, who had managed to worm their way into the doctor’s heart. Which was precisely why, he was now standing in the nurse’s office, lab coat on, waiting for the first patient to come and maybe a small part of himself was waiting for the moment Caelum would enter the office. And he could only pray that when he did, it would be with a smile.

 

** Namimori, streets, Ienari and Reborn **

Sawada Ienari was walking to school, and just like every morning since he had arrived, Reborn was walking on the houses’ fences. It seemed the baby liked to be at the teen’s eye-level, though the blonde had a suspicion it was because it was easier for Reborn to kick him that way. All in all it was a regular morning. This, however, was about to change as a young girl about Nari’s age jumped on the fence in front of Reborn. 

Ienari jumped in surprise as the girl suddenly appeared and looked on with bemusement as she tried to find her balance on the narrow fence. 

“Hello.” said the girl whose brown hair was tied in a ponytail.

“Ciaossu.” replied Reborn as if there was nothing more normal than having a girl jump on a fence to greet him. 

“My name is Miura Haru.” said the girl, blushing for some reason.

“I know about you. You’re from that house.” said Reborn pointing to a nearby house.

“Would you be my friend?” asked Miura Haru.

“Sure.” replied the baby.

The girl looked like she had fainted and started falling sideways. The movement pulled Ienari out of his stupor. 

“Hey!” he shouted as he stepped towards the falling girl.

His help wasn’t necessary however, as the girl fell on her feet and stroke a victorious pose.

“Woohooo!” she yelled.

‘What a weirdo.’ thought Ienari. This situation was beyond him in more ways than one. Thankfully neither Reborn nor the girl seemed to want him to join the bizarre conversation.

“It’s rather sudden.” said the girl addressing Reborn. “But can you hug me like this?” she said hugging herself.

“Don’t touch me so easily.” said Reborn. “Cause I’m a hitman.”

The girl looked stunned for a second after Reborn’s announcement. Then she took a step forward and slapped the blonde teen. Reborn watched calmly as his student was hit for no apparent reason. 

“What the hell is wrong with you, you weirdo?” shouted Nari at the dark haired girl.

“You’re such a bastard!” shouted back the girl. “What are you teaching him? Babies are angels with pure hearts! You shouldn’t taint them like that!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?!” growled Ienari.

“You’re Reborn’s big brother aren’t you?! You shouldn’t teach him such things!”

“He’s not my brother!”

“Then you’re an even bigger bastard!”

The two continued arguing while Reborn watched calmly from the side. He only looked away from the arguing pair when he felt a familiar presence approach.

“Ciaossu, Dame-Tsuna.” he said to the boy with gravity defying hair.

“Hello, Reborn. What are you doing here?” said the brunet.

“Waiting for Baka-Nari.” said the baby hitman pointing at the duo.

“Oh.” said the teen simply turning to watch the pair with mild interest.

He was pale, noticed the fedora wearing hitman as he observed the newcomer. And he somehow appeared thinner than before. The bags under his eyes were new as well. Was the boy not well? He didn’t have much times to ponder on it though, as Tsuna promptly bid him goodbye and continued on his way to school, his back hunched in a way that made him look even smaller than usual.

The infant watched the brunet leave before turning back to his student. It seemed the strange girl had finally left and Ienari was walking back towards him.

“That weirdo.” he muttered under his breath obviously still angry with the dark haired female.

“You two get along well.” remarked Reborn, innocently. “Almost like a married couple.”

“One that’s about to divorce, maybe.” spat Ienari, as he started walking towards the school still muttering insults.

 

**Namimori Middle School, Roof, Sawa Tsunayoshi**

The brunet pushed the roof’s door open. The school’s roof had quickly become his hideout of sorts. He had always enjoyed high places which his Papa usually explained by the saying ‘idiots like high places’. 

Whatever the reason, he had developed the habit of coming to gaze at the sky during breaks, and even more so on days when he didn’t feel too well. The main reason for this was that he needed to take his pills in such moments and he preferred that nobody was around when he did. He would rather avoid being questioned by the other students. 

The boy walked over to the railing and leaned his forehead against it.

His condition had been worsening as of late. His stock of pills being limited he had had to refrain from taking them as often as usual. As a result, he was weaker and sickly. He had paled a lot and had become skinnier as he found it increasingly harder to eat his meals. Nights were the worse. When he wasn’t plagued by delirious nightmares, the pain kept him awake. The dark bags under his eyes were proof of that. 

He always felt better after taking a pill and it would help for a day or two before he went back to being weak and mostly ill. 

He looked up at the sky. Its usual blue had disappeared in favor of dark clouds. It was unusually dark and the humidity in the air along with the menacing sky told anyone who cared that there would be a storm soon. Tsuna couldn’t help but think of it as an ill omen.

He reached to his chest, where his most precious possession was hanging from a silver chain, under his shirt. Feeling the familiar shape was comforting, but at the same time reminded him that his time was limited. 

As if proving the point, he started coughing violently. He gripped the railing with one hand and placed the other in front of mouth as he tried to fight the spasm that agitated his frail body. As he coughed especially loudly he felt something wet fall on the hand covering his mouth. He closed his eyes and let himself fall to his knees. Warily, he opened his brown eyes. His vision was becoming hazy and his head was spinning. Slowly he lifted his hand up to his line of sight.

Violent red contrasted sharply with the sickly white skin. 

The brown eyes widened a fraction. Desperation giving him energy, he hurriedly slid his hand into his pocket. He grabbed the box resting there and took it out. His dizziness made him clumsy and he dropped the box which slid a few feet away. Trying to ignore the fact that his surrounding were now spinning, the brunet dragged himself on hands and knees towards the box. He managed to pick it up and fought with the lid. At last, the box was open and shook it upside down to get a pill out, except none came. Desperately he shook more violently, refusing to believe that he had run out of pills. Run out of time. 

In one last act of rage he threw the plastic box to the ground. The movement, however made him fall to the floor. He rolled on to his back so that he could at least see the sky in his final moments.

A bitter tear rolled down his cheek.

He had wanted more time, just a little bit more. He had thought he could make it, that he was strong enough to hang on for a while more. Yet it was all ending now. He was going to die there with no one to hear his last words. His time had run out along with the sun-coloured pills that kept him alive. 

The dark sky became a blur, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. As darkness invaded his sight, he heard a familiar creaking and a second later something fresh touching his cheek. He didn’t have time to ponder on it as unconsciousness finally claimed him.


	12. With life on the line

**Namimori Middle School, Hibari Kyoya**

As of late, the infamous prefect of Namimori Middle School had taken an interest in a small animal that attended his school. At first, he had believed the clumsy boy was a herbivore like all the others – or perhaps more useless than the others. 

He had been proved wrong however as the boy had managed to evade his attack not once but twice already and the second time with a swiftness that betrayed fighting experience. Also the second time, the newly tagged omnivore had promised him, Hibari Kyoya, that he would fight him. A promise which he had yet to honour. 

The prefect was determined to make the omnivore keep his promise and fight him that very day. As he had noticed the omnivore often spent his breaks on the roof, he had decided to go and look for him there first. That way he wouldn’t have to mix with the crowding herbivores in the boy’s classroom unless he was absolutely sure the brunet was in there himself. 

He reached the top of the stairs and flung the creaking door open. His eyes widened as he took in the scene.

Sawa Tsunayoshi was indeed on the roof. Except he wasn’t standing next to the railing (which he had ordered the repair of after the last incident) as he usually did, but was lying on the floor, pale as death and so still the dark haired teen feared the younger boy had stopped breathing. 

In a few long strides the prefect went to stand next to the boy. He knelt beside him and ran a finger on the hollow cheek before placing it on the boy’s throat. Feeling the pulse reassured him slightly. The silver eyes ran over the boy’s body, taking in the dark bags under his eyes and the thinness of the teen’s wrists. As his eyes trailed over the boy’s hand he noticed a patch of red. He flipped the limb over, his breath catching in his throat as he saw the blood coating the limb. 

Without losing any more time he lifted the boy bridal style and hurried away. He nearly ran down the stairs and walked, as fast as he possibly could without starting running, towards the nurse’s office. 

The sight of the feared raven haired prefect carrying the unconscious Dame-Tsuna caught the attention of many students. The angry scowl on the Prefect’s face prevented them from trying to get a closer look but most seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and made way for the dark haired boy.

 

** Nurse’s office, Shamal **

The newly appointed school nurse was happily whistling as he busied himself in his office. To his delight many girls had already visited him that day. Of course there had been some boys as well, but he had quickly kicked them out. All in all it had been a wonderful day so far.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to last.

His office door was violently kicked open, startling him, and a raven haired boy who face was distorted by an angry scowl came in, carrying a much smaller and thinner brown haired boy. The doctor’s blood ran cold as his eyes fell on the brunet’s limp form.

“Caelum!” he choked.

His expression became horrified as he caught sight of the blood on the brunet’s hand. 

“Put him on the bed.” he ordered, his doctor’s habits kicking in. 

Surprisingly, the raven haired prefect complied not quite without complaint, but close enough. He placed the smaller boy on the bed with unexpected gentleness before whipping out his cell phone to call his subordinate while the school nurse called an ambulance. Both males spoke in short snappish sentences and their eyes kept darting back to the unconscious figure lying on the white bed. 

 

**_Next morning_ , Sawada Ienari **

Ienari was on his way to school when Miura Haru appeared in front of him. Wearing a samurai’s armor. He stared at her for a moment, stunned, before he decided to just keep walking. Unfortunately, his plan to ignore the girl was made useless when she greeted him.

“Good morning.” she said, sweating even more than he was in the summer heat thanks to her outfit. “This is Miura Haru who couldn’t sleep last night.”

“And this is how you dress when you can’t sleep at night?” asked the blonde glancing at the heavy bags under the girl’s eyes.

“OF COURSE NOT!” exclaimed the girl. “That would just make me an idiot wouldn’t it?”

“Because you aren’t?” muttered the boy eyeing the armor.

She ignored him and raised the hockey stick she was holding in her right hand.

“I challenge you to a fight.” she announced. “If I win, you will release Reborn-chan. But if you win, I will not complain about Reborn-chan’s life anymore.”

“What?!” 

Ienari barely had time to dodge as she swung the stick at him. 

“Oy, wait…”

The blonde had to leap to the side to evade the next attack. Seeing that talking was apparently useless, he settled on running away. 

It was then that Gokudera arrived at the scene. The silver haired boy had appointed himself as his bodyguard and though Ienari couldn’t say he was close to the bomber, they often spent time together. 

“Tenth, please stay behind.” said the delinquent-like teen as he placed himself between the armored fighter and the blonde.

“Ah! Wait…”

Ienari didn’t have time to finish his sentence before the silver haired teen threw sticks of dynamite at Haru’s feet, causing her to blow up. Thankfully, the girl managed to leap away from the explosion. Unfortunately, she ended up jumping over the railing and into the river. Ienari ran to the railing and caught sight of the girl trying to stay afloat. Her heavy equipment made her unable to swim and it was clear she would eventually drown if they didn’t do anything.

“This…this isn’t good! We’ve got to save her!” yelled Nari frantically.

“Then do it with your dying will.” said Reborn lifting Gun-Leon and shot his student.

 

** Namimori Middle School, morning break, Kurokawa Hana **

Kurokawa Hana was sitting at her desk, staring at her cell phone with a worried frown. Sawa Tsunayoshi had failed to show up that morning. It wouldn’t have worried her so much if he had sent a text or called to say he was sick. Or even if he hadn’t sent anything at all, because she would have assumed he had a cold or something. Though she would have given a yelling for not contacting her but that was not the point. 

The point was that Gokudera Hayato of all people had been the one to inform her of the brunet’s absence. Certainly he had said it was a message from the nurse, and he had had an It’s-none-of-my-business attitude, yet she had a feeling he knew more than he let on. First up, he had been paler than usual and there had been dark bags under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept at all the previous night. He had even left the classroom at break, even though Sawada was still there, talking to Yamamoto.

All in all it was obvious the silver haired boy had something on his mind. And considering he wouldn’t even tell her about Tsuna’s situation, he appeared to not be inclined to share. 

She sighed, closing her cellphone. Couldn’t he have just told her that Sawa had a cold? Because of their secrecy and undetailed information, she was worrying to the point of making herself sick. 

“Hana-chan? Is something the matter?” asked her best friend, Sasagawa Kyoko, who was sitting in the seat in front of hers.

The dark haired girl gave her an apologetic smile.

“I’m just a bit worried about Sawa.” she said.

‘A bit’ was a serious understatement but she wasn’t about to worry Kyoko over a boy she barely knew. If she had gotten to know Sawa a little more thanks to her tutoring him, Kyoko had only met him a few times. 

When it came to Sawa, a few conversations weren’t enough to know him. Even she didn’t know much about him. She didn’t even know where he lived.

“Is he sick? He didn’t come this morning.” said Kyoko glancing at the empty seat in the back row.

“According to Gokudera he ‘won’t show up for a while’.” replied Hana, her expression darkening.

The orange haired girl looked at her friend in surprise. 

“Why not?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” sighed the dark haired girl. “That monkey won’t tell me anything else, apart that it was a message from the nurse.”

“Then, couldn’t you ask the nurse about it?” suggested the smaller girl.

“I already tried but he wasn’t there. When I asked the teachers, they told me that he had had important matters to attend to and wouldn’t be back for a few days.”

Hearing about those so-called ‘important matters’ had worried her even more. First, Tsuna suddenly left for the nurse’s office and never came back. Then that monkey announces that the brunet won’t be coming to school and after that, the nurse disappears as well. Wasn’t that too many coincidences? She certainly thought so, which was why she had concluded that they weren’t coincidences at all. Something big enough for a teacher and a delinquent to be involved had happened and she would give anything to find out what.

“Well, I’m sure Sawa-kun just has a cold.” said Kyoko reassuringly. “He’ll be back soon.”

Hana smiled at her optimistic friend.

“I’m sure you’re right.” she said.

When Sawa came back she’d punish him for making her lie to her best friend like that.

“If it’s about Sawa, he was carried to the nurse’s office by Hibari yesterday. I hear he was unconscious and looked absolutely awful.” said a nameless monkey sitting nearby.

… **If** he ever came back, she’d cry her eyes out and **then** give him a piece of her mind.


	13. Lost without you

** Namimori Central Hospital, Shamal **

Shamal heaved a deep sigh as he sank onto the bench outside the emergency care room in which Caelum – also known as Sawa Tsunayoshi – was resting. His brown gaze lingered on the door behind which he knew his patient was sleeping, linked to beeping machines. His childish face, much to pale for one belonging to the living, was covered with a mask. A necessary aid to help him breathe. 

Thanks to Hibari Kyoya, he had been allowed to help intervene on Tsuna and had also managed to keep the boy’s presence quiet. It was impressive how much influence a boy as young as the Middle School Prefect had. Shamal had only needed to hint at Tsuna not wanting certain people to know about his condition and the whole story had been hushed. Only the doctors and nurses in charge of caring for the brunet were aware of his existence, and they had been threatened into silence by the tonfa-wielding boy. Shamal could never express how thankful he was for the Prefect’s help. Not that he was ever going to try. 

It had taken them the best part of two hours but they had managed to stabilize Tsuna somewhat. The teen was now in a deep sleep which Shamal refused to call coma. His heart beat was being closely monitored and various nutrients were flowing into his veins through transparent tubes. At first the doctor had stayed at his bedside but the sight of the boy looking so small lying on the white bed, so pale against the white sheets, it had made him feel queasy and he had quickly fled the room. 

Shamal closed his eyes briefly and sighed once more. His problems had just started. It was one thing that they had managed to stabilize him but in the end it would all be useless if he couldn’t find a way to produce the pills which were to this day the only known cure for Tsuna’s condition. The problem was the main ingredient…

 

**Namimori Middle School, Gokudera Hayato**

The silver haired bomber was in class. It wasn’t by choice. Shamal had forced him to attend his classes saying that he wasn’t needed in the hospital. The doctor had added that he wouldn’t be able to visit Caelum for a while anyway so he might as well go to school. Which was why he was sitting at his desk, scowling at anyone who dared meet his gaze. He had forced himself to occupy his hands by playing with a pen. Otherwise he was sure he would have started hitting someone. 

His inability to do anything while Caelum was in such a critical condition unnerved him. And he could only vent his frustration by scowling and glaring at everyone and anyone. 

The previous evening, he had gone to the hospital as soon as he had read Shamal’s text concerning Caelum. When he had gotten there he had harassed the doctor until he told him about Caelum’s condition. The words hadn’t stopped echoing in his mind since.

_ Flashback: _

_“What’s wrong with Caelum?” asked the bomber with urgency in his voice._

_He had been told before he first met the boy that he had a weak constitution and that he needed to take medication regularly for it. However he had never been given details on the nature of Caelum’s illness or on the medication he was taking. All he knew was that they were bright yellow pills the boy took once a day._

_“Hayato, I don’t think…” started Shamal who looked excessively tired._

_“I want to help!” cut in the bomber, his green eyes flashing with determination._

_Shamal sighed and passed a hand in his dark brown hair._

_“Ever since he was born, Caelum has had a weak body.” started the doctor, wariness showing in his voice. “Simply put his body functions too slowly to permit him to live. Whether it’s his heartbeat, the production of blood cells or his growth, everything works too slowly. There are also a few other problems which make it impossible for him to survive as he is. “ he paused. “Up until now, he has been taking pills I created which have enabled his body to function normally. But he ran out of those pills and his condition worsened rapidly. At this point, if we don’t find a way to make more pills, he won’t survive.”_

_Silence fell on the pair. Hayato seemed stunned by the news._

_“But…But…Don’t you just need to make those pills?” he asked at last, shock seemingly slowing down his train of thoughts. “It can’t be that hard can it?”  
Shamal sighed once more._

_“It’s more complicated than you think.” he said. “I trust you know about the Vongola flames?” Hayato nodded. “The pills are made with Sun flames whose property is to Activate. Unfortunately, I can only make them if we find a donor. You can guess who the last one was and why we can’t use him anymore.”_

_“No…no way…” whispered the silver haired teen, devastated._

_Shamal placed a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder._

_“I’ll do my best to find someone but I don’t have much hope. I don’t like saying this, but…” he took a deep inspiration, trying to steady his quivering voice. “You should prepare yourself for the worse.”_

_ Flashback End _

“….dera-kun! Gokudera-kun!”

The silver haired boy blinked twice, bringing himself back to reality and looked up at the blonde boy who had been calling him.

“Was something the matter Jyuudaime?” he asked in a very professional way.

The boy seemed a little surprised by his answer, not used to such stiffness.

“Yamamoto and I are going outside for lunch I was thinking you might like to join us?” the sentence had been phrased as a question, the blonde seeming unsure.

“I…” the silver haired teen hesitated, part of him wanted to start looking for a Sun flame user but a more sensible part of his mind convinced him that looking randomly wouldn’t help. “I’ll come along.” he said, trying hard not to let his voice crack.

 

**Namimori Streets, Lambo**

The previous night, his kind big brother had failed to come home and Lambo had decided to go and look for him. His child’s mind was convinced that Tsuna had gotten lost on the way home and was currently waiting somewhere, most likely crying. At least, he knew he would be crying in such a situation. He had therefore decided that he should go and look for his big brother and save him. He was after all the Great Lambo-san and he would become Tsuna-nii’s hero.

For that purpose he had left the security of the apartment he and his big brother lived in and had started his search. He walked in the streets singing to himself and munching on grape candy which he kept in his afro and without which he would most likely have been starving. 

As he walked through the town, he received a lot of weird looks from the passer-byes, mainly because of the cow outfit he was wearing. The five-year old didn’t seem to notice the attention he was getting at all, as he continued with his mission to rescue his older brother. The mission turned out to be a little harder than he had expected, as he still hadn’t found Tsuna after four hours of searching. Worse of all, he had gotten lost while he was looking for the brunet and was now close to tears.

“To-le-rate.” said the kid to himself.

As soon as he finished saying the word, he burst into tears.

“A-Are you alright?”

The cow-kid turned towards the person who had talked and found himself looking into green eyes similar to his own, belonging to a teenager with red hair and glasses.

“Are you lost?” asked the teen who had stopped and was kneeling next to the boy.

“L-Lambo-san is looking for Tsuna!” said the child sniffing loudly.

“Tsuna? Is that your friend?” asked the boy kindly.

“Tsuna is Lambo-san’s subordinate.” promptly explained the five-year old assuming an air of great importance.

“I-I see…” 

“Tsuna got lost so Lambo-san is looking for him.”

“He got lost?”

The little boy nodded.

“Lambo-san waited all night long.” he said making wild gestures. “But Tsuna never came back home. So Lambo-san went to look for Tsuna.”

The red haired boy seemed to finally understand the small boy’s situation. At least partly.

“Maybe, he came back home while you were looking for him.” he suggested, thinking that this Tsuna person who seemed to be living with the boy might be worried if he didn’t find the child soon.

Lambo looked crest-fallen at the suggestion.

“L-Lambo-san…doesn’t know the way back.” he said tearfully, clutching his cow suit tightly.

The teenage boy thought for a few minutes.

“Hum…Did Tsuna-san ever give you something in case you got lost?” he asked as he got an idea.

The five-year old boy thought hard for a few seconds before nodding vigorously, his entire face lighting up. He started rummaging into his afro and finally pulled out a green purse shaped like a cow’s head. The red haired teen took it from him and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper with an address and a phone number.

“There it is!” exclaimed the teen happily. “Look Lambo, your address is written here. Now I know where you live.” 

The child looked at him uncomprehending. Seeing that the child hadn’t understood him, the teen smiled gently.

“We can go and find Tsuna-san now.” he told the boy taking his small hand in his. 

The news made the cow-kid lighten up instantly.

“Ne, nee! What’s your name?” he asked as they started walking.

“My name is Irie Shoichi, but Shoichi is fine.”

 

**Italy, Giglio Nero Mansion**

Aria was sitting at her desk gazing out the window with a distant look in her deep blue eyes. Ever since that morning she had felt distracted. Her gaze kept going back to gaze at the sky overhead and her heart would squeeze painfully in her chest. Something had happened or was about to, she could tell. It frustrated her that she didn’t know what it was or to whom it would happen.

Suddenly images flashed before her eyes and she gasped at what she saw. When the vision ended she fell back against her leather chair. Her eyes were wide as she analyzed the information. 

_He_ was in danger. Mortal danger. They would have to do act quickly or they would lose him and then everything would be lost. If he died, the future she and her mother wished for would be lost forever. 

Despite her knowing this, she couldn’t do anything. She could only pray that they would find a solution; that they would find the Sun they needed in time. Because in the end, everything was about time…


	14. Where are you?

** Namimori Central Hospital, Shamal **

Shamal was sitting in front of three computer screens on which white dots appeared and disappeared constantly, with the occasional coloured dot here and there. What he was looking at was the data collected by three of Hibari’s subordinates who were carrying a device around town capable of detecting flames. The colour of the dots corresponded to the type of flame that was detected. Red for storm, blue for rain, purple for cloud, indigo for mist, green for lightning, orange for sky and yellow for sun.

This clever little device had been invented by Verde, a renowned scientist who evolved in the world of the mafia. He was also rumoured to be one of the famous Arcobalenos though nobody knew for sure what those were. Thanks to his relations to Reborn, Shamal knew for a fact that Verde was indeed an Arcobaleno. He had gotten all the confirmation he needed when he had been in contact with the scientist while buying the device. At the time he had clearly seen the green pacifier hanging from the Lilliputian scientist.

Anyway, the point was that Verde was highly intelligent and he had been researching the Dying Will Flames. A few years ago, he had invented this device which he called a Flame Radar. Just as the name indicated the device detected flames in 500 meters radius and their types. However, it didn’t indicate the strength of the flame which was why he had sold it to Shamal for such a cheap price.

At the moment, the doctor didn’t care much for the strength of the flame. All he wanted was a sun flame. Unfortunately, it appeared they were pretty rare. First up, not everyone had flames, whether active or dormant. Secondly, sun flames, like sky flames were not as common as storm flames for example. It was maddening how many red dots he had already seen when there hadn’t even been one yellow dot appearing on the screen yet.

Trying to refrain from banging his head on the walls he took out his phone, intending to call the Disciplinary Committee members who were assisting him to change locations. He would have them move around the city center where the crowds were, so that they would have more chance of finding the desired flame. He had to find it; no matter what.

 

** Namimori Streets, Lambo & Shoichi **

**“** _Kimi wa dare da? Boku wa Lambo…”_ sang Lambo loudly as he and Shoichi walked through the streets towards the address indicated on the paper Tsuna had given the five-year old.

The pink haired teen was busying himself thinking about everything except the obnoxious child walking by his side and the curious stares they were receiving. Everything mostly meaning robotic: his passion. He loved creating machines that could move on their own and do a number of things. He studied hard in order to be able to go to a good university where he could learn all about them. It was difficult to enjoy thinking about it however, when a child wearing a cow suit was singing complete nonsense at the top of his voice right next to you.

“Hey Lambo, where do you come from?” asked the pink haired boy in an attempt to make the boy stop singing.

He had managed to deduce from their previous conversations (if you could call it that) that Lambo wasn’t Japanese.

“Lambo-san used to live in Italy.” replied the dark haired boy.

“In Italy? Did you come here with your family, then?” asked the teen curiously.

“No. Lambo-san came on his own. Lambo-san’s boss ordered him to kill Reborn. So I followed him to Japan.” replied the cow-kid.

“O-Ooooh….”

Shoichi tried not to think about what kind of family would send a small child to assassinate…someone, all the way to Japan from Italy. His instinct told him it wasn’t anything good and his stomach was starting to hurt as it did every time he was especially stressed. He rubbed his belly with his free hand trying to ease the pain and forcing his thoughts away from the cow’s family.

“Is Tsuna-san part of your family then?” he asked hoping that this Tsuna person wasn’t as weird as the rest.

“Tsuna is Lambo-san’s subordinate.” said Lambo for the second time.

“Um…Yes, but is he also Italian?”

A pair of green eyes looked up at him. The little boy looked stumped by the question.

“Ah! Don’t worry about it, it doesn’t matter.” said Shoichi hurriedly as he saw the five-year old was starting to become upset by his lack of knowledge.

They finished their walk in silence.

When they came to a stop in front of a modest building, Lambo started bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Ahahaha!” he laughed obnoxiously. “Lambo-san found the way home!”

The teen remained silent, not bothering to point out that he had been the one to find the way back partly thanks to the trusty GPS installed on his phone. The cow child let go of his hand and raced up the stairs. Shoichi sighed and followed him up to the second floor. On the last door the nameplate read ‘Sawa’, which Shoichi supposed was this Tsuna’s last name. Hesitantly he rang the doorbell.

From where they stood they could hear the faint sound of the ringing inside the house. They waited for a few minutes but no answer came. The apartment was completely silent as well.

“Ara, ara, is Tsuna sleeping?” said Lambo, ringing the doorbell again repeatedly.

They waited for another minute.

“Maybe he isn’t home.” suggested Shoichi as they received no reply.

Lambo ignored him and proceeded to open the front door.

“Ah! Lambo! You can’t….” protested the pink-haired teen to no avail.

Paying no attention to the elder boy, Lambo opened the door and stepped inside. Shoichi reflexively pushed his glasses up his nose reflecting on the reason why the door was unlocked. Seeing Lambo disappear inside the apartment, he decided to follow him. Hesitantly, he opened the door more widely and peeked inside.

“I’m coming in.” he murmured stepping inside.

Closing the door behind him, he looked around. He was standing in a kind of living room with a low table in the middle and a kitchen on the side. On the opposite side of the room was a door leading to a passageway. The teen carefully made his way there. Two doors were on either side of the small corridor. He first opened the one the right, revealing a small bathroom. He closed the door and opened the second one.

Lambo was already in the room which seemed to be the bedroom if the bed was any indication. He was the only one there however, and fat tears were rolling down his cheeks.

“Tsuna isn’t sleeping.” said the boy from where he sat on the bed.

The teen felt a sudden surge of pity for the little boy and he went to pat his head in a comforting manner.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find him.” he told the boy.

Suddenly having an idea, he fished out from his pocket the paper Lambo had given him.

“Look, there’s a phone number written here. We can try calling it.” he said doing his best to sound cheerful.

The child nodded, snot coming out of his nose and his cheeks drenched in tears. Smiling encouragingly, Shoichi took out his cell phone and typed the phone number. He finally pressed the call button and held the phone to his ear.

Never before had a ringtone sounded so stressful and his stomach was starting to hurt again. The only positive point was that no phone was ringing in the apartment which meant that Tsuna, whoever he was, had taken his phone with him. At least, they had a chance of reaching him.

Unfortunately, luck didn’t seem to be on their side that day as nobody picked up.

“Th-that’s weird. Maybe he didn’t pick up fast enough.” said Shoichi trying not to show any worry.

Lambo sniffed loudly and fresh tears starting gathering in his eyes. Not wanting the child to start bawling, Shoichi hurriedly started typing the number.

“I-I’ll try again.” he said quickly.

His stomach was hurting more and more with every minute passing, as the ringtone sounded in his ear. He was immensely relieved when the ringtone was cut off and he heard a deep tired voice saying ‘Hello’.

“Ah, hello. Is this Tsuna-san?” asked Shoichi. “I found Lambo a while ago and…”

“ _I’m sorry but Tsuna is unavailable at the moment. Could you tell me who you are?_ ” said the voice.

“Eh? Ah, of course. My name is Irie Shoichi. Like I said I have Lambo with me…”

“ _Lambo?”_ the voice sounded surprised.

“Yes, he was lost so I took him back to the address that was written but there’s no one here.” explained the teen. “Could you please tell me where I can find Tsuna-san? I need to take Lambo back to him.”

The silence stretched and Shoichi started to think that whoever was on the other end had hung up.

“ _Tsuna can’t see anyone at the moment.”_ said the voice at last.

“B-But Lambo told me that Tsuna-san was his only family in Japan!” exclaimed Shoichi his panic starting to show in his voice.

There was silence again, broken a few moments later by a heavy sigh.

“ _Listen, can you come to the Central Hospital for now? It’ll be easier to talk and explain the situation in person._ ”

“I-I understand. Then I’ll bring Lambo with me.”

“ _When you get there, ask for Doctor Shamal. That’s me._ ”

“Understood. Then I’ll see you there.”

Shoichi ended the call and turned towards Lambo, trying to hide his worry.

“Lambo, we need to go to the hospital. There’s a man there called Doctor Shamal who knows where Tsuna is. Do you understand?”

The cow child nodded.

“Did something happen to Tsuna?” he asked in a small voice, his small hand gripping his suit tightly.

“I…I’m not sure yet.” replied Shoichi. “We have to go to the hospital first.”

Picking up the child he made his way to the living room. There he hesitated. He couldn’t leave the apartment unlocked could he?

“Lambo are there any spare keys inside the house?” he asked.

“With the shoes.” said Lambo simply, seemingly too upset to involve himself in any kind of conversation.

Following the boy’s instructions, Shoichi went to the shoe cupboard next to the door and looked inside. Sure enough, a set of keys was resting on the shelf. He picked it up and left the apartment, carefully locking the door behind him, before heading towards the hospital, Lambo in tow.

 


	15. Will of the Living

** Namimori Central Hopsital, Sawa Tsunayoshi **

_It had been a while since darkness had claimed him. Or at least he thought it had been. It was always difficult to tell for how long he had been in this place. Somehow it always seemed that he had been there for days no matter how much time he had really spent there. So was this strange world he had already visited a few times in his life. Strangely enough it never seemed to change. As always, light blue stretched endlessly in all directions sometimes crossed by surfaces of fluffy white. It was the sky in its simplest and most harmonious form._

_The first time Tsuna had found himself floating in the middle of the sky he had thought he had finally arrived to heaven. This impression had only grown stronger when he had been faced with the person who seemed to roam this world. The surreal apparition would have shocked the life out of him if he hadn’t already thought he was dead._

_After the second time, he had gotten used to it._

_It was now the third time he had stepped in this surreal space. The third time he had come close enough to Death to peer under her hood. He had to wonder if nearly dying so many times had made him insane enough to create the space he was floating in._

_“Vi posso assicurare, non siete pazzi. (I can assure you you are not insane)”_

_Tsuna spun around to look at the man who had just talked. He was taller than him but slightly shorter than average. His hairstyle was strikingly similar to Tsuna’s own except that the man’s hair was blonde instead of brown. His features were hidden behind a mask of bright orange flames that covered his eyes and the upper half of his face but Tsuna had seen enough portraits of the man to know that he and Tsuna surprisingly looked very much alike._

_“Primo.” said Tsuna eyeing the man suspiciously. “Why did you call me here?”_

_A soft chuckle escaped the man’s lips, as he took a step forward, his black cloak gracefully floating around him revealing the black suit he was wearing underneath._

_“I see you are still as distrustful as always.” remarked the man, visibly not taking any offence with the fact. “I am not your enemy, you know.”_

_“I know.” answered the brunet without a moment’s pause. “It’s just a habit I was born with.”_

_This time the man laughed._

_“That’s not true. I can assure you you were a lot more trusting when you were a baby. If I was to take a guess I would say you got this trait from your Papa.” said the man with a hint mischief._

_Tsuna’s gaze hardened._

_“Why did you call me here?” he asked again, his tone slightly harsher._

_The man’s smile and any hint of mischief disappeared._

_“I came to ask you a question.” he said gazing into the pair of orange eyes before him. “Can you really die in peace knowing what you are leaving behind?”_

_Brown bangs covered the teen’s eyes as he clenched his fists._

_“I’m tired. I wish I could have a nice long rest. I don’t want to have to worry about all of this anymore. I…don’t want any more pain. But…” he raised his head, his orange eyes shining with sadness and determination and a bright flame blazed to life on his forehead. “If I leave things as they are…I OBVIOUSLY WON’T BE ABLE TO DIE IN PEACE!”_

_The blonde man smiled softly._

_“I see.” he said as his body started becoming brighter and somewhat transparent. “It’s a relief to see that your resolve is still as strong as always.”_

_When the light, which seemed to emanate from the man, became too strong, Tsuna covered his eyes with his arms._

_“I wish you luck, Vongola Decimo.”_

_As soon as he heard those words Tsuna found himself falling out of the sky world and into darkness._

** Namimori Central Hospital, Doctor Shamal **

“Thanks for your work.” said Shamal as he accepted the Flame Radar from the Disciplinary Committee member.

When the sun had started to set, he had called the three students back. Had they been mafia members he would have them working all night but they were just students and children. They most likely had families to return to and it would be irresponsible as an adult and member of the school staff for him to exploit them. The doctor might be a flirt and show blatant disinterest for male patients but he did have some sense of responsibility.

He stared at the retreating student until he disappeared out of the hospital’s doors. His gaze then lowered to his hands in which the three Flame Radars were resting.

In the end they hadn’t found anyone with Sun Flames. Even though he had made his three agents move around in all the crowded parts of town, there hadn’t been even a hint of yellow on his screens.

Sighing he was about to turn away from the doors and go back to his temporary study, when the doors opened to reveal a strange duo. The doctor wasn’t sure why but his gaze followed the two newcomers as they walked up to the front desk. The older of the two, a red haired teenager who looked slightly older than Caelum and Hayato, started talking to the nurse there, while the small boy holding his hand, who was wearing a cow patterned outfit and an afro, looked around the room curiously. Shamal continued staring at them without really knowing why.

For some reason, the cow suit that small child was wearing reminded him of something, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

While he was deep in thoughts thinking about where he had seen such strange patterned clothes, the woman at the front desk caught sight of him and waved him over. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he hurried to her side. No matter how important your thoughts were, a lady in need always came first.

“Doctor Shamal, these boys were asking for you.” said the young nurse gesturing to the unusual duo.

The man turned to the two boys.

“Ah! Nice to meet you, Doctor Shamal.” said the red haired boy. “I’m Irie Shoichi, we talked on the phone a while ago.”

The man blinked a few times, before remembering the phone call in question. With all that had happened he had completely forgotten about that.

“Ah, yes, of course. Well come with me, we’ll be more comfortable to speak in my office.” he said motioning for them to follow him.

They walked in silence through the hospital’s corridors. Shamal walked in front and the two boys followed a few feet behind. From time to time, Shamal would peek at them, trying to determine who they were. He swore Caelum always made strange acquaintances. Though, he couldn’t imagine why Caelum would involve himself with a cow-suit wearing brat and a nerd-looking teen.

Shamal finally stopped in front of the room he had monitoring the Radar’s from and opened it, letting the boys enter. He followed them inside, closing the door behind him. As he turned away from the door, he saw the yellow dot that had appeared on each of the three screens. His eyes widened as he watched the yellow and green dots unbelievingly. Slowly he turned his gaze to the two boys who were looking at him uncomprehendingly.

“I-Is something the matter?” asked the teen nervously.

Shamal didn’t answer. Instead, he started rummaging in the drawers of the desk for the right device. He finally found the captors he was looking for. He grabbed the teen’s arm and rolled up one his sleeves before applying the small metallic device on the boy’s skin. He waited for a few seconds in bated breath before the device beeped and a small yellow light glowed.

“U-Um…sir?” asked the teen looking completely bewildered.

Shamal looked up at him quickly.

“Shoichi, was it?” he interrupted. “Would you be willing to make a donation?”

“Excuse me?!”

 

** Namimori Central Hospital, Irie Shoichi  **

The red haired teen was sitting on a bench just outside the room ‘Tsuna-san’ was resting in. He had finally gotten a glimpse of the boy a few minutes before. He had been surprised to see an extremely pale teenager with wild brown hair lying in the hospital bed. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting from the person who took care of Lambo, but it was definitely not this. The boy he had seen looked frail and short for his age. His delicate appearance coupled with the deathly paler made him look way to weak and innocent for someone who was apparently involved in dangerous things.

From what the doctor had told him, Tsuna-san, or Caelum as the man called him, had been ill since birth. His body was unable to function properly without the proper medicine. The medicine in question turned out to be a mystery in itself. Doctor Shamal had tried explaining but he had also said that there were rules that said he couldn’t tell him much. The only thing Shoichi knew for sure was that the man had taken something out of his body, that he called ‘Sun Flame’, which he had used to make some kind of bright yellow pills.

The doctor had administered the pills to Tsuna-san a while ago. After that, he had let them in the room for a minute so that the fretting Lambo would see that his so-called subordinate was fine. When they were in the room, gazing at the pale boy, Shoichi had thought for a moment that Lambo would burst into tears. He had been surprised when the child had simply squeezed his hand tighter and gazed at Tsuna-san without letting his tears fall. Against all odds, he hadn’t even protested when Shamal had told them they had to leave the room. He had however asked to stay next to Tsuna-san’s room.

Shoichi had complied which was why he was now sitting on the bench in front of the room petting the head of the five-year old who was using his lap as a pillow. He had called his mother and told her he would be back late with a guest. He hadn’t told Lambo for he was sure the child would have been against leaving the hospital, but he was planning on taking Lambo to his place once the child was asleep. It appeared that Tsuna-san would be in hospital for a while and they couldn’t stay in the hospital during that time, so he had decided to look after the cow-child until Tsuna-san was well enough to go home.

Shamal had thanked him and said he was sorry for the inconvenience especially since he wasn’t even aware that Caelum had been looking after the child. He had also promised he would contact them as soon as the brunet woke up.

Smiling to himself, the red haired teen checked that his charge was asleep before lifting him up and walking away from the room. He had a feeling his life would be changing drastically after this, but strangely enough, his stomach wasn’t hurting at all.


	16. Fresh Start

** Namimori Central Hospital, Tsunayoshi **

Tsuna was sitting on the hospital bed he had occupied for more than two weeks. He had first woken up two days after receiving his treatment and had been resting since then. The previous day, Shamal had finally agreed, though reluctantly, to release him. Tsuna had therefore spent his morning packing the clothes and objects that his friends’ had brought from his home for him. In fact, most of his belongings had been taken to his small hospital room as if people were expecting him to die of boredom if they didn’t fill his room with his belongings. He had also gotten presents from his visitors, which had been more numerous than he could ever have hoped.

Bianchi brought flowers to his bedside and changed them every three days. She would put them in a vase and arrange them nicely, before sitting on a chair next to his bed. They would then spend an hour or so talking about anything that came to mind. Hayato had been the one to bring his things in hospital along with Shamal. The two males had also given him news from the school. Once they had even brought Hana with them to visit. It had been a big surprise for Tsuna and he had been anxious. Shamal had told the dark-haired girl that Tsuna had a sickness which would sometimes act up and force him to spend a few days in hospital to rest. Hana had spent almost an hour with him, informing him of what they had done in class while he was in hospital and asking about his health. The next day, she and Kyoko had come to visit with a box of cakes which they had shared.

The most surprising visit by far had been Hibari’s. If there was one person Tsuna would never have dreamt of seeing in his hospital room it was the Prefect. Yet, the raven haired teen had come, glaring at anyone who dared crowd in front of him all the while. He hadn’t sat, settling for standing next to Tsuna’s bed and enquiring about his health and when he would be coming back to school. He had left after Tsuna had renewed his promise to fight him when he was better.

Last but not least, Lambo and his new friend Irie Shoichi had come to visit almost every day. Tsuna had learnt when he had first met the pink haired teen, that he had found Lambo when the child was looking for Tsuna in the streets. After they had found out about the brunet’s condition, the older teen had decided to take care of Lambo until Tsuna got out of hospital. Shoichi-kun, as he came to be called by the brunet, therefore became one of his most regular visitors. It turned out that the two teens got along well, which might have been helped by the fact that they had similar personalities and the experience of having to look after Lambo.

Tsuna looked down at his wrist where an orange watch was attached. It had been a present from Shoichi who was in fact pretty smart and passionate about robotics. The pink haired teen had managed to modify the watch a bit so that when it would be able to show Tsuna how much sun flames were in his body. When there wasn’t any left, the watch would emit an alarm and the screen would become red. Tsuna would then know it was time for him to take another pill. Out of a new found habit he pressed a button on the side of the watch and the screen changed. Three bars out of five appeared, showing him that he still had enough sun flames to last for a while. He pressed the button again and the time took the bars’ place on the screen.

Shoichi and Lambo would arrive any minute now. They were the ones supposed to accompany him back to his apartment. Lambo because he would be moving back with Tsuna, and Shoichi because he was Lambo’s temporary caretaker and the only one available. Shamal had had to go back to the school after Hibari had come to threaten him and both Hayato and the girls had class. Shoichi’s school finished classes earlier than Namimori Middle Scool so it had been decided he would be the one to pick him up.

A knock on the door brought the brunet out of his musings.

“Come in.” he called.

The door opened, revealing Irie Shoichi holding Lambo’s hand, possibly to prevent the child from jumping on Tsuna as soon as he saw him.

“Good afternoon, Tsuna-san.” greeted the smiling teen. “How are you feeling today?”

The two boys walked closer to the bed Tsuna was sitting on and when they got close enough Shoichi released the child’s hand. Lambo took the opportunity to jump on the bed and sit on Tsuna’s lap.

“I’m feeling a lot better, now.” replied the brunet with a smile as he started patting Lambo’s head. “Your watch helps a lot. It makes it a lot easier and a lot less stressful.” he added lifting his wrist.

“I’m glad it helps.” said the pink haired teen. “Are you ready to go?”

The brunet’s smile had never been as bright as when he nodded signaling that he was indeed ready to leave the hospital.

 

** Namimori Middle School, Sawada Ienari and Reborn **

“Oy Baka-Nari.”

The blonde boy shrieked as the fedora wearing baby suddenly came out of a hidden room in the wall.

“R-Reborn!” he exclaimed once he had somewhat recovered from the shock.

Ienari quickly glanced around him and heaved a silent sigh of relief upon seeing that the corridor was empty save himself and his tutor. He couldn’t really picture him explaining what a baby wearing a suit was doing, coming out of walls as if it was the normal thing to do. He relaxed a little and took some time to examine Reborn’s expression.

Though it was a fact that the hitman constantly had a blank expression. Ienari had learned to notice the almost imperceptible changes. And right now, he could see that the baby’s browns were a little more furrowed than usual. Apparently, he was pissed off about something. And a pissed off Reborn was a dangerous Reborn. Ienari gulped.

“Shamal just told me that Dame-Tsuna was coming out of hospital today.” announced the baby, hiding his eyes under his fedora.

Reflexively the blonde took a step back.

“Sawa was in hospital?” he asked genuinely surprised and maybe a little concerned.

Hospital had to mean something serious, right? When he hadn’t seen Dame-Tsuna for two entire weeks, he had assumed the boy had had a bad case of the flu or something. But as far as he knew people didn’t go to hospital for the flu (unless it was an _extremely_ bad case of it) or any random sickness. Now that he thought about it, there had been rumors about Hibari carrying an unconscious Tsuna to the nurse’s office. It couldn’t be that Hibari had beaten him up? But then, he wouldn’t have taken him to the nurse’s office. Hibari never bothered doing that. He just left his victims where they had fallen, leaving his subordinates to ship them off to hospital when they found the corpses.

“We’re going to visit him.” said Reborn, his tone making it clear that the topic was not up to discussion, before walking away.

“Eh?”

Ienari blinked, gaping at Reborn’s retreating figure. He had known Reborn knew Sawa but hadn’t realized they were _friends_. Or at least something important enough that Reborn would be worried (?) about the brunet. Maybe not worried. He wasn’t even sure whether or not Reborn was capable of being worried. But there had to be something to prompt to actually visit. For now, he would call it worry.

 

** Tsuna’s apartment, Tsuna, Lambo and Shoichi **

The trio had just arrived in front of the old building in which Tsuna lived. They had stopped short in the street gaping at it with wide eyes. Tsuna had gone pale and worry was starting to seep in his shocked expression. Shoichi looked like he had seen an alien ship and Lamb didn’t seem to understand what was happening.

“Ne, nee!” he said pulling Shoichi’s sleeve. “Why is it smoking?” he asked pointing at the building from which thick black smoke was emerging.

“Ah…well…that’s….” Shoichi was too shocked to form a proper sentence and quickly gave up preferring to continue staring at the scene before his eyes.

“It’s burning.” said Tsuna in such a faint voice, that Shoichi immediately turned to look at him alarmed.

“Are you alright? Maybe we should find somewhere to sit.” he said regaining his composure and starting to look around for a place to sit.

“No, no it’s fine.” said Tsuna trying to sound reassuring. “I’m just…surprised is all.”

And he had reasons to be. Flames were licking the building’s walls, coming out from the windows and turning the brunet’s home into ashes. All the inhabitants of the building were in the street. Some women, including the landlady, were crying while others just watched the scene with desperate looks.

“Why is it burning?” asked Lambo insistently.

“It must have been an accident.” said Shoichi as he kept a close watch on the smaller teen. “It happens.”

“I must have the worse luck for this to happen on the day I come out of hospital. Not that I didn’t already know that but still…” the rest of Tsuna’s sentence was lost as he started mumbling under his breath.

Shoichi patted his back comfortingly.

“At least you had most of your belongings with you, you didn’t lose much.”

The brunet gave him a grateful smile.

“That’s true. But now I don’t have a place to live anymore.” he said becoming serious. “I’ll have to ask Shamal if he can take me and Lambo in while I look for a new place to live. I’ll probably have to find a job as well…” he sighed.

“Sawa?”

The two teens turned around towards the blonde who had just arrived.

“Sawada-kun, what are you doing here?” asked Tsuna in astonishment, momentarily forgetting about the fire.

The blonde looked a little uneasy.

“Reborn wanted to come.” he said at last, motioning towards the baby on his head.

“Ciaossu, Dame-Tsuna.”

“Hello, Reborn.” said Tsuna. “It’s nice to see you.”

“Erm, Sawa? Is that your building on fire, by any chance?” asked the blonde teen.

The brunet suddenly looked depressed.

“It is.” he said sounding extremely tired.

“Oh…What will you do?” asked Ienari.

“I’m not sure, yet…”

“You can come and live with us.” interrupted Reborn.

The two boys looked at him baffled.

“Excuse me?” said Tsuna who had difficulty believing what he had heard.

Ienari didn’t look surprised but rather thoroughly unimpressed. Sometimes he thought it was amazing how Reborn could act like he owned the Sawada house even though he was just a freeloader.

“I said, you can come and live with us.” repeated Reborn.

“I-I can’t possibly…What will Mrs Sawada say? And I have Lambo with me! It would be too much trouble.”

“I think it’d be fine.” said Ienari surprising everyone, including himself. “Mom won’t mind.”

“Then it’s settled.” announced Reborn, not even waiting for Tsuna’s opinion. “Let’s go.”


	17. The past always catches up to you

** Sawada Household **

“Of course! It’s no problem at all!” Sawada Nana exclaimed looking absolutely overjoyed.

Ienari had just explained to her about Tsuna and Lambo’s situation and asked her if they could stay at the Sawada home for the time being. She was now happily making a list of the things she was going to have to do to accommodate the two boys. The room’s other inhabitants listened politely to her enthusiastic speech. Only Tsuna paid no attention to what was being said.

He was staring fixedly at the oblivious woman in front of him. Ever since he had first seen her, he had been frozen into a stunned silence. He was completely unable to move or think and was thus left to stare and gape as if he had never seen a woman in his life.

It was just that when he had accepted Ienari’s…or rather Reborn’s offer, he hadn’t really been thinking; at least not clearly. Because of this, the fact that he would meet this woman, Sawada Nana, had failed to register in his mind. But that wasn’t all. It wasn’t just meeting her. It was living with her. Living with the incarnation of what he had always yearned for and simultaneously what he dreaded the most.

Suddenly, he clasped a hand to his lips. It resounded with a loud smack and everybody turned to look at him with bewildered expression – a lifted eyebrow in Reborn’s case, which was probably the closest thing to surprise he had ever showed.

“What’s wrong?” Ienari asked alarmed at the sight of Tsuna who was starting to turn green.

“Feel sick.” the boy muttered behind his hand.

Catching on, Ienari grabbed his arm and led him to the bathroom. The others followed, getting there in time to see Ienari hand the other boy a towel to wipe his mouth.

“Oh dear!” Nana cried, sounding genuinely worried. “We should call the doctor.”

“No.”

Tsuna’s voice had been barely above a whisper but it had succeeded in catching everybody’s attention. Getting to his feet the small boy forced his lips into a bright smile which no one would expect to see on someone who was just sick.

“I feel better already.” he told them. “I think I’ll just rest for a while if you don’t mind. Today has been very stressful.”

Nana’s eyes widened and she placed her hands in front of her open mouth.

“Of course it’s been stressful, I wasn’t thinking!” she exclaimed. “Just wait a few minutes. I’ll get your room ready and you can get a good rest.”

She left for the guest room as soon as she had finished her sentence. While she prepared the bed for Tsuna, the two teens took care of cleaning the bathroom. Once it was once more spotless, Nari left Tsuna inside to clean himself. He came back a minute later with clean pyjamas which looked almost baggy on the thin boy before he guided him to the room. Tsuna thanked him politely for his help and he left. As soon as the door closed behind his classmate, Tsuna’s smile dropped in favour of a mask of disgust, mixed with a cold rage. This house, these people, it all brought back memories he would rather forget. Had fate not tortured him enough? Surely he must have done something absolutely horrible in a previous life to be punished in such a cruel way in this one. He brought a hand to his eyes and suddenly he just looked tired. Not physically, but emotionally.

He had gone through a lot in thirteen years. More than the average person would see in a lifetime. A lot more. Just a few days ago he had been dying. When he had seen his end approaching he had wished strongly for more time but now he had to wonder if it was worth it. Why did he suffer so much? Nothing, not even Hell, could be worse than this. So much pain, so many nightmares, so many dreams that would never become reality. So many betrayals.

Maybe he should just quit. Maybe finding his Papa, a man who had mostly abandoned him, was not worth his going through all of this. Maybe he was a mistake, like that man had said. Maybe he should never have been alive in the first place. Maybe he should have died long ago and fate was just trying to put things right by killing him.

_“Idiot Caelum. Of course, I would come to fetch you. We’re family aren’t we? You’re my son, I’d go to the end of the world to fetch you.”_

A muted sob racked his frail body as the beloved voice talked in his memory.

That liar. Yet, despite everything he had done, his betrayal, his lies, he loved him with everything he had. The time spent with him was so precious, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to get it back. Nothing he wouldn’t go through to spend even one second more in his Papa’s stiff yet warm embrace.

But he wished…He wished it didn’t have to be so painful. He wished Papa hadn’t left. He wished he hadn’t lied when he had said he would go to the end of the world to find him. Even though they were useless wishes because one couldn’t change the past, he kept murmuring them to the otherwise silent room. Because sometimes wishes were meant to be useless and unattainable.

“Please, just come back to me.”

 

** Sawada Household, Sawada Nana **

Dinner had ended just a few minutes earlier and Nana was busying herself washing the dishes. As she wiped the plates clean, her thoughts focused on the older of her two house guests. He was so similar to her son it had shocked her. They weren’t identical, but they could have easily passed for brothers. And when Nari had told her his name, Tsunayoshi, she had had to refrain from gasping in shock.

Her warm brown eyes filled with tears. Tsunayoshi. Her oldest son had been called Tsunayoshi. He had been Ienari’s twin brother, born just over five minutes before the blond. He had been such a beautiful baby! If Ienari took after his father, Tsuna had looked just like his mother. She had loved him instantly. Of course she adored Ienari as well, but deep down Tsuna had been her favourite. His tuft of brown hair and all-knowing eyes had charmed her. Ever since she had first seen his smile she had believed it to be the most beautiful thing in the world. Tsuna’s smile could lit up a whole room. It had made her feel like the luckiest mother of Earth. Her heart felt as if it was flying in the sky. It was such an incredible sensation, such a beautiful smile!

A tear dropped in the washing water.

Had it been a punishment for preferring him over Ienari? Tsuna had been too weak to survive. He had died a few weeks after he was born. She had never cried so much as the day they buried him. She remembered with fearsome precision her husband’s clenched jaw and the tears in his eyes that he refused to shed. Iemitsu had been very fond of Tsuna. The baby’s death had been heart breaking for them both.

She inhaled deeply as the doctor’s resounded in her memory.

_“I’m sorry Mr and Mrs Sawada, but your son, Tsunayoshi has just passed away. I understand that this is very painful for the both of you but please keep in mind that his body would never have permitted him to live a normal life. At best he would have been in a hospital all the time…”_

She brushed the tear away and chased the memories away to a corner of her mind. It was all in the past now, there was no point thinking about it.

 

** Namimori Central Hospital, Shamal **

“Damn.” muttered the female-obsessed doctor as he reviewed the data in front. “Damn it!”

He banged his fist angrily on the desk, gritting his teeth. He exhaled deeply and let his face sink in his hands.

“Damn it.” he muttered again weakly.

He continued cursing under his breath while the screen of his computer remained unperturbed. Caelum’s health status was written there in the form of numbers and graphics and it wasn’t positive.

“Why the hell is it always him?” asked Shamal to the silent study, his voice cracking towards the end. “And why am I always the one announcing the bad news?”

He looked out the window and gazed into the distance.

“I should never have gotten close.” he muttered to himself before a deep frown marred his features. “This is all your fault Reborn! And I’m going to make damn sure you know it.”

He opened his hand palms up and let his gaze rest on them.

At this point, he didn’t think Caelum would stop him. This made it even harder if possible. Was it the right thing to do? Did it have to be the right thing to do? Caelum deserved happiness. He personally felt like murdering Reborn but that was more likely to make Caelum cry.

He sighed again and let himself sink in the back of his chair.

And even if _‘Papa’_ remembered his son, what then? It wouldn’t change anything to the fact that Caelum…

He closed his eyes.

“Someone is going to have to pay for this.” he told the room. “And I’m not sure their life will be enough.”


	18. Clouded Sky

** Namimori Middle School, Roof, Tsuna and Hibari Kyoya **

Tsuna was standing on the roof clinging to the railing as he had done many times before. Yet this particular time was different. He had just come back from the nurse’s office where Shamal had insisted on talking to him about something important. He was currently waiting for the renowned blood-thirsty Prefect of Namimori to show up. They hadn’t made an appointment but Tsuna was convinced Hibari Kyoya would come. And this for a very simple reason: the Prefect had been practically stalking him to get the fight Tsuna had promised what seemed to have been years ago. It hadn’t been that long of course. But sometimes, it felt like the Tsuna he had been then had been a whole different one. He felt like he had aged fifty years in just a few days.

The door creaked open behind him and a ghost of a smile floated on the brunet’s lips. He turned around.

“Hello Kyoya, glad you could make it.” said Tsuna with a calm smile.

“Omnivore.” replied the Prefect, raising his tonfas.

Tsuna also took a combat position, revealing his gloved fists previously hidden behind his back. The Prefects’ eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw the white and red mittens adorning the smaller boy’s hands. He opened his mouth to tell Tsuna he had better take this fight seriously when a bright orange flame burst into life on the boy’s forehead. To the Prefect’s astonishment, the mittens turned into a pair of black metal clad gloves.

“Maybe I should warn you that few of those who have seen me wear those X-Gloves have lived to tell the tale.” said Tsuna in a voice lower and a lot more confident than his usual one.

Hibari gazed into the boy’s bright orange eyes and smirked.

“I’ll bite you to death.” he announced.

Tsuna smiled.

“In that case, I’ll defeat you with my dying will.”

His smile disappeared and a new burst of sky flames erupted on his forehead. Eyes narrowed, he leapt forward.

Tonfas clashed with the X-Gloves in a flurry of powerful blows. Both boys fought with exceptional skills, both of them relying on their instincts and reflexes to dodge blows. They were however, far from equally matched. Hibari saw this in the first minute of the fight. Tsuna was faster than he was, and though his blows were not as heavy as the Prefect’s, he made up for it with experience and skill. A minute and a half later, both fighters leapt backwards. They stood eyeing each other while looking for flaws in their adversary’s guard.

Hibari could feel his breath getting quicker and he knew the intense battle was tiring him faster than it should. He took in the calm and regular pattern in which Tsuna breathed and knew at once he would be no match in endurance with the boy. He had allowed his breathing to go erratic for a few moments and that would be his doom. He narrowed his grey eyes. He would just have to finish him off quickly.

He ran forward.

Tsuna didn’t look surprised to see him attack suddenly and stood unmoving. Strangely enough, the gloved boy didn’t make any move to stop the other boy’s attack.

At the last moment, Tsuna took a step forward and placed a hand on Hibari’s shoulder which he used to heave himself up in the air, narrowly avoiding the Prefect’s tonfa. His hand still clenching Hibari’s shoulder, Tsuna placed his free hand behind him and released his flames. This served to propel him forward. Hibari was pushed to the ground, Tsuna on top of him.

The Prefect’s back hit the floor and the impact made him drop his metal tonfas. His weapons fell to the ground in a resounding clatter.

Tsuna had both his hands on the older boy’s shoulder, stopping him from moving his outstretched arms. They were once again in a compromising position, except this time Tsuna didn’t move away. His glowing orange gaze was fixed upon Hibari’s grey one. The Prefect looked back into the younger boy’s eyes unable to move away. Tsuna had a soft smile playing on his lips and his eyes held so much beauty that Hibari could not find it in him to look away. Had he been anyone else he might have thought an angel was looking down on him.

Without warning a tear dropped from the orange and rolled down the Prefect’s cheek. The grey eyes widened, still fixed upon those eyes and that smile.

“Kyoya.” said Tsuna.

The Prefect’s heart thumped painfully in his chest. It was the first in a long time anyone had called his name in such a tender way. And yet…the boy’s voice was so infinitely sad. He had always seen the boy smile, even now his lips were twisted upwards, and it appeared almost strange for tears to be falling from his eyes. Who would have thought such a small creature could hide such sadness in his frail body?

“Kyoya.” repeated Tsuna. “Do you know? I have an illness that makes impossible for my body to function properly. Ever since I was born I have been in danger of dying at any given moment.”

The Prefect held his breath as tears continued rolling down his cheek. He had known and he had a feeling he knew what the small boy was going to tell him. He was pretty sure he did not want to hear it.

“I always thought I would be alright. When you’ve known all your life that death is just a step away, you can’t really find it scary, can you?” the smile faltered as heavy tears poured down the sky-wide eyes. “But Kyoya, do you know what?” Tsuna’s voice cracked and he took a deep breath. “I’m terrified!” he blurted his eyes suddenly reverting to their original brown colour. “I’m scared to die! I’m just so…scared.” he gulped.

The boy’s monologue was interrupted by a sob racking his frail body.

“I’m scared because…if…if I die now…Kyoya…he won’t know!” the sentence had ended in a horrified whisper and it was in the same way that Tsuna continued. “ _Papa_ …won’t know…and even if he does…wouldn’t care...because…because…I’m just a stranger!”

Another sob cut the boy off.

“Kyoya…I’m scared. I don’t have time.” said the boy in a harsh whisper. “I don’t know what to do, Kyoya.”

It felt strange to Kyoya to be told Tsuna didn’t know what to do when he himself was at a loss as to what he should be doing at the present moment. He didn’t have any experience with crying boys, or even with crying people in general and he could tell he would be at a loss anyway. This wasn’t the kind of sadness you could brush away with a casual ‘it’s going to be okay’ because it was evidently not going to be okay. Nothing was okay. Tsuna was going to die. He had lost hope.

Slowly, Kyoya placed on the back of the boy’s neck and brought it down to his shoulder while his other arm circled the boy’s thin waist. Another sob shook the small boy’s entire body followed by another. Soon, Tsuna was crying freely on the other boy’s shoulder and Kyoya was only too glad his cheeks were already wet from the boy’s tears because if a tear escaped his own eyes no one would be the wiser.

 

** Namimori Middle School, Courtyard, Sasagawa Ryohei and Tsuna **

A muscular boy with short white hair, tanned skin and a band aid stuck across his nose bridge was standing in front of the school’s doors with his arms crossed. Sasagawa Ryohei, elder brother of Sasagawa Kyoko, was an extreme man, and the captain of Namimori’s Boxing Club.

“Onii-chan?” called a red haired girl who had just stepped out of the building. “What are you doing?”

“I’m extremely waiting for someone!” replied the teen.

“Who are you waiting for?” enquired his sister curiously.

“An extremely strong boy with an extreme haircut!” yelled the boy throwing his bandaged fist in the air. “HIS PUNCH WAS EXTREME. I’LL EXTREMELY MAKE HIM JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!”

The girl sweat-dropped.

“I see.” was all she said.

It was that moment Tsuna chose to exit the school.

“Ah! Sawa-kun _,_ see you tomorrow.” said Kyoko with a sweet smile waving at her classmate.

“Y-yes, see you tomorrow, Sasagawa-san.” replied the brunet with a hesitant laugh.

His eyes looked a little red and the girl briefly wondered if he was alright.

“SAWA!” yelled the boxing captain. “EXTREMELY JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!”

“Uh?” replied Tsuna intelligently his eyes as wide as saucepans.

“I SAW YOUR EXTREME FIGHT WITH HIBARI.” yelled the older teen as an explanation. “YOUR PUNCHES WERE EXTREME! EXTREMELY JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!”

“I’m sorry, Sawa-kun.” said Kyoko. “My brother is very enthusiastic about boxing. You don’t have to join the club, though.”

“A-aaaah…I’m sorry Kyoko’s brother but I can’t join the boxing club. I have a medical condition which could take a turn for the worse if I overexert myself.” he laughed in an embarrassed way.

_Well, I wouldn’t have joined anyway but he doesn’t need to know that._

“WHAT?!” yelled the older teen. “SAWA, YOU’RE EXTREMELY SICK?!”

“Er, yes…”

That was actually a good way of putting it. You couldn’t have a more extreme illness than a fatal one could you? Doubtful.

With a forced smile and a wave, Tsuna took his leave. As he walked back towards the Sawada household, he looked up at the clouded sky overhead. He couldn’t help thinking that the sky must look at his worse if the cloud took so much trouble to hide him. And soon rain would fall, as if the sky was crying. Maybe there would be a storm to express the sky’s howls of pain. Thunder might strike as randomly as fate seemed to. Afterwards, there might even be mist draping the Earth like a veil, preventing anyone from seeing the torn sky. And all the while, the sun would remain hidden, clueless as to what its sky was going through.

How terribly ironic for an element supposed to heal the pain and chase the shadows away. A bitter laugh escaped the boy’s lips. At least the sky wasn’t suffering alone…


	19. The Fault is Mine

** Namimori Middle School, _Roof_ , Gokudera Hayato and Tsuna **

“Caelum, how bad is it?”

It was Hayato who had asked this question. He was looking at the city, his back turned to his friend. Tsuna was sitting on the floor a little further away eating a lunchbox prepared by Nana – he still couldn’t call her _Mama_ as she had requested.

“Hmm? It’s not bad.” he said sounding surprised. “It’s actually pretty good.”

Hayato gave him a quizzical look above his shoulder. He sighed deeply before going back to his earlier contemplation.

“I’m not talking about the food.” he said in a don’t-make-yourself-sound-more-stupid-than-you-actually-are voice.

Understanding flashed in the warm brown eyes and the boy placed thelunchbox on the floor in front of him. He gazed at it seemingly lost in thoughts for a few moments.

“It’s not very good.” he said at last.

Hayato had to bite back an acid remark. He breathed in and out a few times, so as to not let himself be ruled by his growing frustration.

“Caelum, I know you have never been worse. I want to know exactly how bad it is. I want to know if…” he trailed off suddenly unsure.

“If you should prepare yourself for the worse.” finished Tsuna softly.

The silver haired bomber whipped around his mouth opened, ready to say something, but closed it when his green gaze met Tsuna’s. The smaller boy was smiling sadly.

“It’s alright Hayato. I know.” he told the silver haired teen.

The brown eyes drifted to his pale hands.

“I don’t have much time left. A year at most.” he said, not meeting the other’s eye.

Hayato stood gaping, unable to produce any kind of sound and gripping the rail for support.

“No.” he breathed at last.

The brown eyes looked up with mild curiosity.

“No.” repeated the boy more firmly. “It can’t be.”

“Hayato…”

“Caelum!” interrupted the bomber. “You can’t die! You…”

The brunette lifted a hand, effectively stopping the other teen before he started his rant.

“You knew, Hayato. You knew from the start that I would tell you this one day.” he reminded. “I thought you had accepted it.”

“I had!” snapped the other teen, eyes shining with a curious mix of sadness and rage. “I had. But thing have changed since. And I…” he paused looking everywhere but as Tsuna. “I had hoped” he continued more softly. “that when you…went away,” he still could not bring himself to say ‘died’. “your father would be there.”

The brown eyes briefly flashed with regret.

“I had hoped so as well, but I’ve come to accept that this is a wish that is not meant to be.” he said with more conviction than he felt. “I’m going to die, Hayato. And Papa will not be there to see it. Perhaps it’s better that way.”

“Die? What do you mean, Tsuna?”

Both Italians jumped and turned around to stare wide-eyed at the newcomer. Yamamoto was standing next to the door which they hadn’t heard being opened, his expression a lot more serious than usual. He was looking at Tsuna, with a deep frown and clenched jaws.

It was Tsuna who recovered first. He shook his head and waved the teen over.

“Have a seat, Yamamoto-san.” he said with the sad smile that had now become the norm.

The dark haired boy nodded and went to sit opposite the brunette.

“So, what did you mean?” asked Yamamoto again.

“What do you think he meant?!” snapped the silver haired bomber, scowling at the basketball player.

Tsuna shot him a warning look before addressing the tall teen.

“Yamamoto…”

“Call me Takeshi.” interrupted the boy.

“Takeshi. You might already know that I have serious health problems.” he looked questioningly at the boy who nodded stiffly. “Well, recently I was examined and my doctor told me that I had at most a year to live.”

Tsuna looked at his classmate as he processed the information. He knew that there was no easy way to say it. He had come to understand that no matter how much embellishment you put on the facts, it was still as difficult to accept in the end.

“Who knows about this?” whispered Takeshi, who had paled considerably in the last few minutes.

Tsuna glanced at Hayato.

“Well, the school nurse, who is also my doctor, Hayato here, Kyoya and now you.”

Hayato lifted an eyebrow at the mention of the infamous Skylark but thankfully did not comment on it.

“Maybe you should tell Kurokawa.” said the dark haired boy after a moment. “And Nari as well. You’re living with him now aren’t you?”

Tsuna’s expression who had become regretful at the mention of his tutor and friend, turned cold and impenetrable at the mention of the Sawadas.

“I’m only staying there temporarily and would prefer that the news didn’t spread.” he said stiffly.

The change of tone didn’t go unnoticed and the dark haired boy looked up a bit surprised by the unusual coldness.

“Of course, I mean, you should tell who you want.” he agreed a bit awkwardly.

A moment passed in complete silence.

“Tsuna.” said Takeshi suddenly. “Do you mind telling me about yourself? I mean, we’re friends now and I’d like to…know you better, I guess.” he ended a bit lamely.

The brown haired boy smiled.

“Sure.”

** Sawada Household, _Evening_ **

“Tsuna!” yelled Lambo as soon as he caught sight of the teen. “Look there’s a funny-head living with us now!”

The funny-head in question was a small…girl – if he was to believe his intuition – wearing a Chinese outfit. Her head was indeed strange as it looked like an egg with a black braid stuck on top of it.

“L-Lambo, you shouldn’t say that kind of thing.” Tsuna protested weakly, finding it difficult to correct the child when he himself was having similar thoughts.

He knelt to the new child’s height and smiled kindly at the girl.

“Um, hello. I’m Tsuna, it’s nice to meet you er…?”

“I-pin!” said the girl in a squeaky voice. “Nice to meet you Gege _._ ”

“Dame-Tsuna!” called a familiar irritating voice from the top of the stairs. “Come up there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Tsuna lifted his eyes to look at the withdrawing hitman and internally groaned. Whoever was up there, he expected them to be anything but normal. They were one of Reborn’s acquaintances after all. Dragging his feet, the teen went up the stairs. He stopped in front of Ienari’s room and hesitated. He had never been inside the other boy’s room before and had quite honestly thought he never would. The two of them didn’t really get along that well after all. They tolerated each other, had civil conversations and that was about it. It wasn’t the blonde’s fault. If anyone’s it was probably Tsuna’s fault that their relationship was so awkward. He couldn’t quite get passed…well, his past, of which Ienari reminded him constantly of.

He shrugged. Well, it didn’t really matter. He would be dead in a year anyway.

Bracing himself for a possible impact – Reborn had been known to hit people just because they had taken more than a second to get wherever he wanted them to be – Tsuna opened the door and entered the room.

The sight of an unknown blonde young man greeted him.

“G-Good evening.” stammered Tsuna. “I’m Sawa Tsunayoshi. N-nice to meet you.”

“I’m Dino Cavallone.” said the blonde with a warm smile as he shook Tsuna’s hand.

At the young man’s words, Tsuna’s heart forgot to beat. Dino Cavallone. He knew the name all too well even though he had never actually met him. The Cavallone Famiglia was allied to Vongola and their current boss, Bronco Dino, had been trained by Reborn. That’s right, Dino was the reason why…

No, he admonished himself. No, Dino had had nothing to do with it. Caelum had been abandoned before the Dino issue had ever come up. It wasn’t his fault.

Tsuna managed to force a convincing smile on his lips.

“A-Are you Reborn’s friend, Mr Cavallone?” he asked the picture of innocence.

The blonde man laughed.

“Call me Dino.” he told the boy good-naturedly. “And rather than a friend, I was Reborn’s student before he left for Japan to train Ienari.”

“Train?” asked Tsuna looking confused for the sake of the audience.

“Dino.” intervened Reborn. “Tsuna isn’t part of the family.”

“Oh.” uttered the young man as it dawned upon him.

Tsuna did his best to assume a curious expression, half-hidden behind an unconcerned mask. They would expect him to be curious yet decent enough to make it look as if he was not. They easily bought his silent lie and he was soon shooed out of the room as they had ‘things to talk about’.

Tsuna gratefully left the room and went to his own, locking the door behind him. He drew the curtains and silently went back to the door to check that no one was by. Once he was sure nobody was spying on him, he went to sit on his bed. He took out the flat metal case of his pocket and opened it. Gazing at the photo of his father, he gently pulled the chain around his neck and lifted the object hanging on it, usually hidden under his shirt.

“ _Papa, ho un segreto da raccontare._ (Papa, I’ve got a secret to tell you.)” he murmured to the man in the photograph. _“Sto maledetto a morire giovani._ (I‘m cursed to die young.)”

As he talked, his fingers brushed the bright orange pacifier wrapped in tiny chains, hanging around his neck.

** Namimori Middle School, Shamal’s office, Shamal and Bianchi **

The atmosphere inside the nurse’s office was unexpectedly serious considering its occupants. Shamal was for once not trying to flirt with the beautiful woman sitting on one of the beds. He was smoking next to the open window, looking absently at his desk.

“I…I can’t believe this.” said Bianchi softly after a while. “Even though I knew, I just…”

“I know.” said the doctor gravely. “It’s the same for me.”

They stayed silent for a few minutes more.

“Shamal, why is he getting worse? I thought you had managed to make his medicine.”

The doctor sighed and scratched the back of his head.

“I wish I knew.” he muttered dejectedly. “All I can say is that his whole body seems to be rotting away. It seems it’s going steadily towards a massive break-down.”

“But why?” insisted the pink haired woman. “Is there any reason why his body would be failing?”

Shamal shook his head. He turned to look the woman dead in the eye.

“Bianchi, there’s something I want to do for Caelum.” the doctor said.

The young woman looked at him questioningly.

“I want to make his Papa remember him.”

Bianchi’s eyes widened in shock.

“Can you do that?” she asked.

That man smiled with bitter humor.

“Well, yes. I am the one who made him forget everything in the first place, after all.”


	20. Out of Time and Space

** Namimori, Park, with Tsuna **

Today was a strange day, Tsuna mused as he made his way through the streets. Breakfast had been uncommonly uneventful as Reborn had left early for god-knew-where. Bianchi was out of town so she hadn’t been there to wreak havoc either. Lambo was ill so he had stayed in bed and when she was alone I-pin never caused any trouble. Therefore, breakfast that morning had been quiet, peaceful and in a word: normal. Tsuna couldn’t help but feel that this was the calm before the storm. His life had never been normal and there was no reason why today would be an exception. Not to mention his hyper intuition had been acting up ever since he had woken up that morning, giving him a nasty foreboding feeling.

The brunet rounded a corner and entered the park. He made his way to the playing area which was still empty at this early hour. He had planned to spend some time there, having nothing better to do. Nari – as he insisted he be called – had asked if Tsuna wanted to spend time with him but the brunet could tell it was more out of politeness than a desire to get to know him. Sensing that the blonde had better things to do, Tsuna had declined saying he had plans. That had been a lie of course. Hayato had not made an appearance in the last two days. And neither had Yamamoto, or rather Takeshi. Tsuna suspected the two boys were still under the shock from his news. He knew that they would both need time to think about it before they could accept it.

As for Kyoya, he had been very busy lately as students from Namimori Middle School had been attacked repeatedly. Sasagawa Ryohei had been amongst the first to be attacked and was currently recovering in hospital.

He sat on one of the swings and stared up at the sky.

Shamal had not been in touch either. It wasn’t that strange as the doctor often went off without warning. Even if he was at home, he was not the type to keep in contact with people. If he needed you, you heard from him, if not, you didn’t.

“Tsuna-nii is ranked number one as hitman with the most potential but last in the healthy Mafia members.”

Tsuna jumped slightly at the sudden announcement and looked on his left. A small boy wearing a long scarf was standing a few feet away. His eyes were distant and small objects in a five meter radius were _floating_. Actually floating in the air without any strings attached.

Dazed, Tsuna grabbed the swing’s chains while staring wearily at the alien that had just appeared.

“Tsuna-nii is also ranked first in the hitmen who are most likely to accept a request.”

Had this kid just called him ‘gullible’? Well, he hadn’t said that, but it was what it meant. Blasted brat. Worse was that he could not even deny it.

Still frozen out of shock, Tsuna watched the floating things fall back to the ground as the kid took an enormous book out of his coat. Tsuna decided at one that the item was probably alien-made seeing as the book was bigger than the kid and there had been no sign of it a few moments ago. The boy started writing down things in it. Once he was done, he put the book back in his coat – definitely alien-made – and went to stand in front of the older brunet.

“Hello, I’ve been calling you Tsuna-nii, can I keep doing it?” asked the kid with a bright, salmost adoring smile.

“…Sure.” replied Tsuna after a moment’s pause.

He was feeling a bit lost.

“So uh…what’s your name?” he asked in an attempt to get a better understanding of the situation.

“Fuuta De La Stella.” replied the boy.

Tsuna’s eyebrows shot up. Of course! The ranking prince! Everybody in the mafia knew about him. Fuuta De La Stella made rankings concerning the mafia and he was apparently 100% correct. A lot of Famiglias wanted him even if they had to force him. Luckily for the kid, he had managed to successfully get away up till that day.

“Nice to meet you, Fuuta.” said Tsuna returning the child’s smile.

Before anything else could be said, three men in suits came running towards them, halting in front of the two boys.

“Give us the boy.” ordered the man who seemed to be the leader.

So that was why Fuuta had ranked him in the ‘mafiosi who can’t turn down requests’ or whatever. Without bothering to engage in a conversation, Tsuna took out his pair of white mittens and put them on. He calmly went to stand between Fuuta and the three men and lit his flame.

Five minutes later, the two boys started making their way towards the Sawada home, leaving three men sprawled on the ground.

“I’ll ask Nana if you can stay with us for the time being.” said Tsuna as they walked in the streets. “Once I find a new place for myself and Lambo, you can come and live with us. I-pin might…”

He trailed off as his hyper intuition went berserk. He turned around, only to encounter darkness.

** Shamal’s office, with Shamal, Bianchi and Reborn **

“What is this all about?” asked Reborn in his infantile voice.

He received no reply from the two other occupants of the room. Bianchi was standing against the door, jaw clenched. The baby glanced at her suspiciously. The pink haired woman wasn’t anything like her usual self. She was unusually serious, had not tried to feed anyone her poisonous food and had not even attempted to hug him. On top of that, she had placed herself against the door as soon as Reborn had entered the room, thus making it impossible to use it as an escape route if need be.

Shamal was also acting differently from his usual self. Not only had he not flirted with Bianchi at all, he had not mentioned the fact that he really hated treating men. Having said that, Reborn was not even sure whether or not he was going to get treated. He still had no idea why the two of them had asked him to come, they had just said it was some important matter they needed to settle and that they shouldn’t tell Dame-Tsuna about it. Bianchi had even gone as far as to say she would be out of town that day to avoid suspicion.

“Sit over there, please.” asked Shamal, gesturing to a chair in the middle of the room.

Reborn tilted his fedora forward making no move to obey the doctor’s request.

“Reborn, please!” said Bianchi from her spot next to the door.

The woman’s tone implied so much wariness, that Reborn turned to look at her.

“It won’t hurt you.” said Shamal. “What I’m about to do is nothing that will damage you.”

Without a word, the baby nodded stiffly and went to sit on the chair.

“Thank you.” said Shamal, and he too sounded tired. “Now look into my eye.”

** Namimori, streets **

The darkness only lasted a moment as Tsuna promptly unlatched Lambo from his face.

“Lambo, what are you doing here? You should be in bed!” said Tsuna worriedly.

“Lambo-san doesn’t want to sleep. Lambo-san wants to go with Tsuna!” cried the boy clutching the brunet’s shirt in his tiny fists.

“But Lambo, you’re sick.” protested the older boy.

“Lambo-san won’t go to bed!” screamed the child, jumping to the ground.

He took a purple bazooka out of his afro and jumped in it before Tsuna could make a move. With a loud ‘bang’, a cloud of pink smoke erupted from the bazooka. When the smoke dissipated, Tsuna, who had rushed forward to see if Lambo was alright, found himself facing a tall teen with dark hair and green eyes. The teen had one eye closed, and was wearing a shirt with cow-print which reminded Tsuna of Lambo’s cowsuit.

“Looks like my younger self used the ten year bazooka again.” remarked the teen in a low voice. “Though for once I’m happy he did.”

Tsuna blinked. He had heard of the Bovino Famiglia’s ten year bazooka but he had never thought it might actually exist. Teen Lambo’s lips stretched into a sad smile.

“I thought I would never see you again, Vongola. But here you are, alive and well. It makes one nostalgic.”

Oh…Of course. Ten years in the future, he, Tsuna, would be dead.

Two strong arms pulled him into a tight embrace and he felt a few tears fall onto his neck. Just before the dark haired teen disappeared in a cloud of smoke, Tsuna heard his low voice whisper in his ear:

“I wish I had more than five minutes.”

Tsuna wasn’t sure how to react, so all he did was squeeze the five year old Lambo in his arms a bit tighter.

It was then that he realized Fuuta hadn’t said anything in a while. He was about to turn around when something solid hit the back of his neck, swiftly knocking him out.

“Captured you, pyon!” said a voice he didn’t recognize as fell unconscious.

** Shamal’s office **

As forgotten memories resurfaced, Reborn could feel his heart sinking. He had been tempted to think of it as a trick. It would be easier to think it was all lies. So much easier. But he knew, deep down, that it was all true. He had done something awful, had betrayed the person who mattered the most to him. He felt horrible. A lump had settled in his throat and he wondered if he was about to get sick. How could he…Had it been done to him he would never forgive the traitor. He might have ruined everything. But why? Why the hell had he thought it was a good idea? How could he?

He looked up at Shamal, his look blank.

“What have I done?” he asked in a broken whisper.


	21. Trip down memory lane - part 1

**_ Italy, Strana Famiglia facility _ **

_Reborn was fed up. He had set out early that morning in order to wipe out a small and (in his opinion) worthless Famiglia affiliated to the Estrangeo. The Strana Famiglia specialized in scientific and medical research. They had been allied to the most powerful Mafia family, the Vongola, but had fallen in disgrace after they had been revealed to experiment on children. Because the current boss of the Vongola wished to keep the matter of the Strana Famiglia a secret, he had hired an outsider to do the job. He had contacted Reborn, the number one hitman, who was also famous for being a freelancer despite the many offers he had received from various famiglias. He was pledged to no one, knew the meaning of discretion and was unrivalled in his line of work. In one word, he was perfect for the task._

_This was the reason why the hitman was now roaming the deserted corridors of the Strana’s so-called ‘medical facility’. He had barged in a few hours earlier and killed all those he could see. He was now chasing after the last living Strana. He wasn’t making any effort to hurry as he was pretty sure he would catch up to the man whatever he did. He had shot the scientist a few minutes before, so it was only a matter of time before he found him collapsed or dead somewhere._

_Thanks to his sharp hearing, he heard the faint sound of panting that came from further down the hallway and he knew that the man was reaching his end. He quickened his pace slightly, eager to be done with the tiresome task. He rounded a corner and found himself facing a dead end. He didn’t hesitate to walk forward and enter the room on the left side of the corridor. Kicking the metal door open, he stepped in, his trusty green gun raised in front of him._

_There was the man in the white blouse, dragging himself on the floor, leaving trails of red liquid as he went. He looked over his shoulder and stared horrified at the raised gun. A gunshot later, it was over. The man lay dead in a pool of his own blood, his expression frozen in a mask of terror. One of his hands stretched in front of him as if reaching for something. Mildly curious as to what his victim had hoped to do, Reborn let his gaze trail up. And as he caught sight of the man’s objective, he froze._

_It was a child. A boy with skin so pale that it was almost transparent, a tuft of light brown hair and a white hospital shirt that reached his knees. But it was his eyes that caught the famous hitman off guard. There were big brown and…empty. He could almost see himself reflected in them: a tall young man in a black suit, face half-hidden under his black fedora, gun still pointing at the dead body at his feet. There should have been fear, or at least surprise. There was nothing._

_“Who are you?” asked the man, suddenly shifting his gun towards the boy._

_He may be a child, hardly older than two or three, but he was in the facility of a Mafia Famiglia and he couldn’t afford to put his guard down._

_The boy blinked and for some unfathomable reason, Reborn felt relieved. At least the boy wasn’t some kind of human puppet. That, he thought, would have been creepy even for him._

_Slowly, as if he was half-asleep, the boy’s expression turned to confusion. It occurred to the hitman that the boy might not understand Italian. He didn’t look Italian now that he thought about it. The way his eyes were shaped he would be tempted to say Asian._

_Deciding the boy was not a danger at the moment, the dark haired man started searching the room. A quick glance around told him that apart from the bed on which the boy was sitting, there was only the large desk that took up all the width of the opposite wall and which was covered in various devices. He spotted a few files that had been taken out and marched over to them. It seemed someone had been in the process of adding information to them._

_The young man scanned its contents, surveying the child from the corner of his eye. He froze once again as he stared disbelievingly at the information in front of him._

_“That bastard!” he swore, reading the boy’s name again and again._

_After a few moments, he took a decision. Placing the folded file in the inside pocket of his suit, he turned away from the desk and walked back to the bed. In a few strides, he was in front of the boy, trying to recall the correct way to speak Japanese._

_“Your name is Tsunayoshi, right?” he asked the boy, speaking deliberately slowly._

_The child stared at him wide-eyed, and this time Reborn thought he could make the tiniest light of wariness. At last, the boy nodded, his gaze never leaving the hitman._

_“Do you know why you’re here?”_

_The boy didn’t seem to understand the question or maybe he simply didn’t know for he remained completely silent. Reborn sighed. He hadn’t signed up for this. Maybe he should just kill the kid and be done with it. But the more he looked at the frail child, the less he felt like shooting a bullet to his heart. He sighed again heavily._

_“Come on.” he told the boy in Japanese. “You’re coming with me.”_

_He turned around and started walking to the door. Once there, he turned back towards the unmoving boy._

_“Hurry up.” he snapped started to feel seriously annoyed._

_This got the child moving and in quick motions that contrasted with his earlier slowness, Tsunayoshi went to stand a few feet behind Reborn. The man snorted vaguely amused. The boy showed mistrust uncommon in children of his age, a trait that would ensure he survived a little longer in that kind of world._

_Reborn stepped through the doorway and made his way through the corridors towards the facilities entrance. He looked over his shoulder from time to time to check that the boy was keeping up with him. It came as a nice surprise to him that the child showed no weakness. He trailed behind the hitman, keeping some distance between them but never failing. Once or twice, the distance grew wider and Reborn had to stop to let the boy catch up but not once did the boy make a sound._

_As they neared the main doors, the dead body of one of the scientists came into their line of sight. Reborn walked passed the corpse without so much as a glance but stopped when he noticed the regular tip-tap of the boy’s bare feet on the floor had stopped._

_“What is it?” he asked the boy who had halted a little distance away from the deceased scientist._

_The boy didn’t reply immediately, his brown eyes fixed on the corpse. He examined the dead for a few moments and upon seeing he was not about to move again, raised his eyes to the man clad in black._

_“You?” asked the boy in a whisper that seemed to echo in the empty corridor._

_Reborn understood the question at once._

_“Yes, I killed him.” he replied emotionlessly._

_The boy’s gaze unnerved him though he didn’t show it. He couldn’t tell whether the kid was happy with that fact or not. He got his answer when Tsunayoshi crossed the distance that separated them and grabbed Reborn’s hand._

_The hitman nearly jumped upon feeling the warm little hand slip in his. He had half-expected the boy’s skin to feel cold to the touch but it was warm. In fact, he wondered if it was perhaps a bit too warm. The boy was supposed to have health problems so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to think he might have a fever. He had to get him to a doctor as soon as he could._

_He swore internally. This was turning out to be a lot more troublesome than he had first thought. But as they stepped outside the facility and he felt the small hand tighten around his, he found himself thinking that he didn’t mind that much._

* * *

 

**_ Italy, a few hours later _ **

_“So how did you come by him, anyway?”_

_Reborn eyed the blouse-wearing man quizzically, as the doctor lit a cigarette._

_“I don’t feel inclined to tell you that, Shamal.” he answered coolly._

_The man glanced at him unfazed by the hitman’s coldness._

_“You realize he might not make it?” asked Shamal casually, observing the tiny boy sleeping on the sofa._

_Reborn nodded curtly. Shamal caught the gesture from the corner of his eye. He hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his hairy chin._

_“There’s something I could try…” he said cautiously. “But it’ll require your active help. Also, don’t even think of making me go through the trouble of developing the medicine if you don’t intend to take care of him. I’m not taking him in and if you’re going to dump the kid anyway, we might as well just let him die.”_

_Reborn growled. He couldn’t say he was looking forward to looking after a three year old kid (according to the file) but it would leave a bad after taste to just let him die._

_A muffled sub cut through the silence, and both men turned to look at the boy. His face had scrunched up into a kind of scared frown and a fat tear had escaped his closed eyelid. His hands were balled into tiny fists and Reborn felt a pang of some undiscernible feeling. He could tell the kid would be a lot more trouble than he was worse. He was probably going to have to change his whole damn way of life for the brat. But even as he argued with himself, he knew the sight of the broken kid would weigh heavily on his mind if he abandoned him._

_“I’ll take care of him. Just do it.” he snapped finally, lowering his fedora to hide his eyes._


	22. Trip down memory lane - part 2

**_ Italy, Reborn’s appartment _ **

_“Li…Bon?” mumbled the three year old hesitantly._

_He had been living with the hitman for three months now and Reborn had decided it was high time the boy started communicating orally. The first step was his own name, which the boy was finding hard to pronounce._

_“It’s Reborn. Re-born.” repeated the hitman starting to get a bit fed up with the lesson._

_“Leboon?” said Tsuna scrunching up his face in concentration._

_The cute expression mollified Reborn a bit._

_“Whatever, just call me what’s easiest for you.” he said with a sigh._

_At this the boy clamped his mouth shut and started fidgeting. A small blush started forming on his cheek and he kept glancing at Reborn out of the corner of is eye._

_“Just say it.” snapped Reborn._

_“…pa.” mumbled the boy so quietly that the hitman couldn’t make out his word._

_“Say it louder.” ordered the man impatiently._

_“Papa.” repeated the boy refusing to meet his eye, his cheeks flushed._

_Reborn’s voice died in his throat and it took all he had to kill the warmth which had started spreading in his heart._

_“Whatever.” he repeated at last, glad that his fedora was hiding the slight quirking of his lips._

* * *

 

**_ Italy, Shamal’s home, a year later _ **

_“So I hear you call him Caelum now?” asked Shamal as he entered the sitting room where Reborn was waiting._

_“I thought it better to change his name.” explained Reborn sipping on his espresso. “For now, we’ve managed to keep his existence quiet but who knows how long it will last. When the time comes, I’d rather not attract attention from the wrong people.”_

_Shamal nodded in understanding._

_At that moment, the door opened revealing the brown haired child._

_“Ah, Caelum, all done?”_

_The boy nodded shyly at Shamal. In return, the man offered an encouraging smile._

_“Guess it’s time to announce the news, then.” said the doctor in the enthusiastic voice he reserved for when he dealt with children, or rather Caelum since he did not make a habit of treating brats, especially not boys. “I managed to find a more stable solution to Caelum’s problem. You remember how I took a sample of your flames?” he asked the hitman, who nodded. “Well, I created a pill with them which will ‘activate’ Caelum’s body and make it work normally. Given he takes the pills regularly, he will be able to live a normal life.”_

_Shamal smiled fondly at the boy he had learned to like over the year he had been looking after his health. The child beamed at him, obviously happy with the news. Reborn tilted his fedora to hide the small smile that had made its way on his lips._

_“Thanks Shamal.” he said sounding genuinely grateful._

_“Don’t mention it. I’m still repaying my debt.” said Shamal, dismissing the matter with a wave of his hand._

_Reborn nodded and got to his feet._

_“Time to be on our way Caelum.” he announced. “We’ll be back next month Shamal.”_

_“Yes, Papa.”_

_“You know,” said Shamal as he showed them out. “I still can’t get over the fact that you let him call you Papa.”_

_“Shut up.” growled the hitman causing the doctor to start laughing._

* * *

 

**_ Two years later _ **

_“Caelum, I want you to learn fighting.” announced Reborn._

_The child who had silently drawing, lifted his head up to look questioningly at his father._

_“You remember what my job is?” asked the hitman._

_The boy nodded._

_“The people in the mafia pay you to kill other people.” said Caelum dutifully._

_Reborn scanned his son’s face for any trace of fear, disgust or any other emotion. All he found was complete acceptance which could be called indifference. He breathed a sigh of relief._

_“That’s right. And because I kill people in the mafia I’m worried people will learn about you and try to use you against me.” he explained calmly. “So I want you to learn to defend yourself. You’re six years old now, so you’re old enough to start training.”_

_“Okay.” said the boy simply. “What will I learn?”_

_“Hand-to-hand combat first. Then, when you’re a bit older I’ll teach you to use weapons like guns and knives.” he paused. “Also, I’m going to start home-schooling you since you can’t go to school.” he smirked. “I won’t go easy on you Dame-Tsuna.”_

* * *

 

**_ A year later, Shamal’s home _ **

_Reborn couldn’t help smiling as he approached Shamal’s house. He had left Caelum with the doctor two months ago when he had left for an important job. He usually didn’t leave for such long periods of time but this particular job had been a request from Vongola Nono. It was a trial of sorts. If Reborn could do the job adequately he would become Nono’s personal hitman. A few years ago Reborn wouldn’t even have considered giving his allegiance to any Mafia Boss, but things were different now. He had a son and he wanted to ensure Caelum’s safety. Forming an alliance with the most powerful Mafia Famiglia in Italy would give him a certain amount of security._

_For this reason he had parted with Caelum for two months. He had to admit he had missed the damn brat. It was curious how such a small child had managed to change him into the annoyingly emotional dad he sometimes became. It wasn’t all bad, he supposed. Caelum was a loveable child and he didn’t regret taking him in._

_He rang the bell and was welcomed by a boy who was Caelum’s age, with silver hair and green eyes. He remembered him as Gokudera Hayato, a child of the Mafia who was currently in Shamal’s care and who had befriended Caelum a few months ago._

_The man and the child exchanged greetings politely albeit a bit stiffly. Gokudera Hayato was wary of the hitman and did nothing to hide it._

_The distinct sound of running was heard from the hallway and Caelum appeared. The brunet looked ready to run all the way up to his dad and jump on him as he usually did but suddenly stopped a few feet away from the man, seemingly remembering something. Reborn watched in amusement as the boy wiped his beaming smile from his face in favour of an expression of formal politeness and corrected his posture._

_“Father, it’s been a while. How have you been?” asked Caelum, the paramount of good manners._

_Reborn smirked._

_“I see you’ve learnt some manners.” he remarked not bothering to hide his amusement. “Very good.”_

_The boy couldn’t hide the look of utmost pride that crossed his features at the praise. He had visibly spent a lot of time learning the correct way to behave in society. No doubt Shamal’s idea to distract him from Reborn’s absence._

_“So,” continued Reborn slowly. “I suppose now that you’ve learnt manners you can’t hug me anymore can you?”_

_The boy looked horrified._

_“I’m just joking.” snorted Reborn. “Come here.”_

_The shock on the boy’s face disappeared, replaced by a bright smile. He jumped forward, landing in his father’s arms._

_“I missed you Papa.” said the boy hanging from the man’s neck, his face buried in his shoulder._

* * *

 

**_ A few months later, Reborn’s home _ **

_Reborn looked at the piece of paper in his hand. He had been contacted by a mysterious organisation who wished to gather the seven strongest people in the world to give them a certain task. Reborn wasn’t sure what to make of the invitation. Those people who wanted to gather a team of Arcobalenos was suspicious to say the least. On the other hand, the job certainly looked interesting. It paid well too._

_Had he been on his own he would have accepted but…He glanced at the seven-year old boy sleeping on the sofa. He had Caelum to think of. He couldn’t take up a job that could be a potential danger to the boy. Certainly, Caelum had made immense progress during his training. He was now a fair fighter, able to use knives and guns properly. He had even awakened flames of his own which promised to be a strong asset._

_The hitman sighed. What should he do? Vongola hadn’t been very active lately and even though they weren’t in immediate need of money, Reborn didn’t like staying too long without income._

_He glanced at the paper again. Maybe he would give it a try. There was no reason why it would be more dangerous than the jobs Nono gave him. And he would certainly be paid more. A lot more even. In fact, he was a bit curious as to who was ready to pay so much to employ him._

_Three years later, he would come to regret that decision as he gazed upon his reflection. They had turned him into a baby. A FREAKING BABY! All because of the damn curse he now wore around his neck like a dog’s collar. He seethed and he raged. He yelled and went on rampage. In his bitterness at being turned into an infant, he had quite forgotten the boy who looked upon his growing madness with sad brown eyes. Months after he had been cursed, the name of ‘Caelum’ still failed to leave his lips. One day, he had gone to Shamal. Had he been thinking? He didn’t think so. He hadn’t been thinking clearly if at all since he had been turned into an infant. He had gone to his old friend and had asked for the unthinkable._

_He had asked him to erase his memories._

_He had said he wanted to start anew. Become someone else. Forget Reborn the Number One Hitman and become Reborn the Sun Arcobaleno. He had refused to hear Shamal’s pleas to reconsider. Pretended the silent sobs behind him didn’t exist._

_When he had woken up next, all traces of his past had disappeared and when he had caught sight of young boy with spiky brown hair and sad brown eyes, he had figured he was Shamal’s acquaintance. No one of importance._


	23. Those who shouldn't exist

** With Tsunayoshi, unknown location **

_“It could have been different, if you hadn’t been so weak…”_

_“Someone like you isn’t needed.”_

_“Nobody loves you, and nobody ever will.”_

_“Are you some kind of monster? You have to be, otherwise, why would you have been abandoned?”_

_“We could have loved you, if you hadn’t been that way…”_

_Whispers like sharp hisses echoed around him. He wished he could tell them to shut up, to leave him alone. He wished they would just disappear._

_“You shouldn’t have been born, that’s why he abandoned you.”_

_Every time one of the voices spoke, it’s words stabbed him in the heart. He’d heard them so many times. They followed him everywhere. No matter where he went or how much time passed, they kept whispering in his ear. Slowly, silently repeating their poisonous words._

_“Such a Freak.”_

_“No wonder nobody wants you.”_

_Some used to be real. Some created themselves in his mind. He couldn’t tell which was which now. All that mattered was that they belonged to his reality._

_“If She knew, she’d cry in disgust.”_

_He wished they would leave. Stop turning his dreams into nightmares. Cease to make his unconsciousness a place of torture. He wished he could kill them all…_

Tsuna opened his eyes to partial darkness. He could feel the stone floor on which he was lying. It was cold against his cheek, but it gave him a sense of reality. He looked carefully around him, as much as he could without moving. Stone walls, matching stone floors. From what he could see, it could be concrete. There was a window on the other side of the room but it was mostly covered with a dark red curtain. The piece of fabric had large holes in it, letting rays of sunlight find their way in the room.

“It is good to see you awake, kufufu.” said a voice which reminded him of the Voices.

The soft malicious laugh in which ended the sentence was full of foreboding in his opinion. He strained his neck to try and get a look at the man who had talked. Unfortunately, he was sitting on a kind of chair in the darkest corner of the room.

“Who are you?” croaked Tsuna.

He hated how pathetic he sounded. His throat was dry. He must have been out for a few hours. The faintness of the light coming through the curtains was proof of that. It seemed it was nearly evening now.

“I do not feel the need to tell you.” replied the soft voice, ending in a sinister chuckle once again.

Tsuna gazed at the unmoving shadow, with it’s single red glow towards what he guessed was his face. Red eyes were usually the mark of an albino. But he had never heard of an albino with only one red eye. The only other reason he could think of was some kind of flame induced colouring. His own eyes turned a bright orange when he used his flames. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think his kidnapper could have a similar effect on one of his eyes.

“Then, why did you kidnap me?” asked the brunet, feeling that he should make the man talk somehow.

The man didn’t reply.

“I am very happy to meet you, _Il Misericordioso_ (Merciful One).” he said instead. “I was eager to meet the one who escaped the Vindice’s judgment.”

The brunet frowned. Why would this person know of one of his most guarded secrets? He had told no one of his short stay in the Vindice’s prison.

“It always seemed strange to me that someone who massacred an entire Famiglia would be called Merciful.” the strange chuckle sounded again. “Tell me, Caelum, how did you escape your punishment?”

The brunet gritted his teeth without answering.

“Won’t you answer me?” asked the soft voice. “It couldn’t be that you feel remorse?” it sounded amused now, as if feeling remorse was a weakness.

Caelum closed his eyes trying to erase the cold dread in his heart. No, he didn’t feel any remorse. He lived without regret and the events of that day were no exception. When he saw the infernal flames eat the facility, heart-wrenching screams echoing in the night, he felt only satisfaction. He had not blinked at the blood coating the floor and walls, had not felt any sadness as he gave his enemies a swift death.

Moving his head so that his bangs would fall upon his eyes, the boy smirked.

“I feel I was quite merciful that day, on the contrary.” he said his voice uncommonly cruel. “I could have tortured them, but I chose to give them quick and almost painless deaths. Isn’t that a show of mercy?”

The man chuckled once more.

“If I must feel remorse over something, I suppose it is over the fact that I visibly did not kill all my ‘enemies’ that night.”

“Ah, but you did.” said the man, finally showing sign of movement.

Caelum watched the man’s shadow warily as he got up and walked towards him. As his face came into view, the brunet felt his heart stopped. Of course. Why hadn’t he remembered before? The red eye was a dead giveaway, it was a wonder he had missed the hint.

Brown eyes never left the blue haired boy as he crouched next to his head.

“Rokudo Mukuro.” said Caelum neutrally. “I had heard you escaped. Though I must admit I did not think of you as a threat then.”

“Did you think I would not harm the one who saved me, _Il Misericordioso?_ ”

* * *

 

** Shamal’s office, Shamal, Bianchi & Reborn **

“What have I done?” asked Reborn.

He looked lost to a level that neither Shamal nor Bianchi had ever seen him be. The pink haired woman felt her heart clench in jealousy. Even though Reborn didn’t love Caelum romantically, it had always been clear the boy would always be number one. Seeing the dark haired hitman in such a state over what he had done was just a painful reminder that she could never be as important to him as the brunet.

“Something stupid.” replied Shamal acidly. “Probably the stupidest thing you’ve ever done I might add.”

“He’ll never forgive me.”

Shamal faltered then. Reborn had sounded weak, almost pathetic which he would normally never allow himself to do.

“If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t.” he said sounding almost gentle. “But this is Caelum we’re talking about. He’d forgive you even if you set out to destroy the world.”

And he wasn’t even exaggerating. Caelum would forgive Reborn even if he became the worst monster in history. He supposed it was because for a long time Reborn had been all Caelum had had.

“Anyway, for now I need to take your flames. I found a substitute but it’s weaker.” continued Shamal taking out his equipment. “I’m going to take a lot so that I can make Caelum a long-lasting stock.”

The hitman barely heard the doctor’s warning. He just nodded mechanically, his face so pale that it looked like he would fade away at any given moment.

“What have I done?” he asked again faintly, this time more to himself than anyone else.

Wisely, Shamal chose not to answer.

* * *

 

** Namimori, _streets_ , Gokudera Hayato **

The bomber had been drifting through the streets, thinking morosely about his spiky haired friend. He had mostly come to terms with the fact that Caelum would die. It was just that every time he looked at the boy a new wave of sadness surged. He didn’t want to subject the boy to his own mournful gazes, so he had been keeping his distances until his heart settled down.

Walking sometimes made thinking easier so that’s what he had been doing. Until that guy had come to stand in his way. It irritated the bomber that someone was interrupting his thinking. It annoyed even more that the boy was obviously not normal. His fashion sense was horrible for one thing. He had a black undercut, rectangular glasses and the most hideous and pointless tattoo ever on his right cheek. What kind of weirdo had a barcode printed on his skin? That however was not the oddest thing about the boy. What made Hayato think the teen in front of him was a part of his world, were his lifeless eyes and the way he casually stood in a guarded way.

“Whad’ya want?” muttered the bomber irritably.

“Kokuyo High, second year, Kakimoto Chikusa.” announced the boy in a toneless voice. “I came to break you.”

Hayato sighed.

“And here I was hoping for a calm day…”

As he spoke he took out his dynamite, readying himself for a fight. In front of him, Kakimoto Chikusa took out a yoyo. The bomber frowned at the weapon but didn’t comment. It wasn’t the first time he met someone with a weird weapon. Hell, his best friend and the closest person he had to a boss had mittens as fighting gloves. Admittedly they turned into really cool gloves when he activated his flames, but still.

He had to caught short his thinking, as needles came flying his way at high speed.

This explained that, he thought as he dodged a blow. That boy had needles hidden in the yoyo for long distance attacks and used the yoyo itself for middle range.

The silver haired boy dodged yet another blow, and the yoyo hit the wall behind him. It promptly crumpled down. Visibly, those blows were pretty heavy.

The bomber narrowed his green gaze at the Kokuyo High student.

“What do you want from us?” he snarled.

The boy looked completely emotionless as he answered.

“We already have what we want. We captured the hitman, Caelum earlier.”

Green eyes widened in shock before narrowing into a murderous glare.

“I’m going to kill you all.” he snarled before attacking.

* * *

 

** Unknown location, Caelum **

The brunet sighed. Mukuro Rokudo had left and he was now alone in the darkening room. He realized he was in deep trouble. Mukuro was a criminal. He had decimated an entire Famiglia and had been sent to the Vindice jails as punishment. It was pretty hypocritical of him to think that way, though. As his kidnapper had said, he had also massacred an entire Famiglia once. He, however, had escaped punishment. He still remembered how he had argued with the Vindice.

At the time he had been taken to their jails. Those cold dark places. He had defended himself with a fierceness he never even knew he had.

“It was justice!” he’d told them.

And it had been to him. The Famiglia he had destroyed had been the Estrangeo Famiglia. They were scientists who experimented on humans, children. It hadn’t taken long for him to decide what he would do. It had taken longer to convince the Vindice to let him go. First the ghost-like judges had had to investigate the remains of the facility. When they had found evidence of the Estraneo’s crimes they had released him.

He still remembered Bermuda’s last words to him. They had sounded like a threat to him then, and even now remembering them sent a chill down his spine.

“Your heart is filled with revenge. You would do well as one of us.”


	24. The calm before the storm

** Shamal’s office, with Gokudera Hayato **

The silver haired bomber had finally managed to deal with his attacker. Unfortunately, he hadn’t defeated him. The dark haired boy had fled after Gokudera had dealt him a near fatal blow. But that didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was that Caelum had been captured. _Il Misericordioso_ , they’d called him. It had been a while since Hayato had last heard that title. After Reborn’s ‘departure’, Caelum had started involving himself in _La Cosa Nostra_ , mainly as a hitman. He had made himself known for never killing his opponent unless absolutely necessary. Hence the name _Il Misericordioso_ , ‘the Merciful One’. It wasn’t that strange that people from the mafia knew him by that name, it was after all more widely known than the name ‘Caelum’. It was odd, however, that they would wish him harm. As far as he knew, Caelum had never done anything to make himself hated by anyone…Especially since _Il Misericordioso_ had never had any contact with Reborn, who, in the teenager’s opinion, was the worst bad luck magnet one could have the misfortune of encountering.

As those thoughts flowed into his mind, he ran at full speed towards Shamal’s office. He wasn’t stupid enough to think he could go and save Caelum alone. So he would tell Shamal and together they would plan the boy’s rescue.

He flung the office’s door opened, ready to tell his news. The words never left his mouth. Instead he stood gaping, unable to believe his eyes.

 

** Unknown location, with Caelum **

The resurfacing memory had filled his heart with dread and maybe a little bit of fear, though he would never admit it to himself. In order to recover, he had started thinking an old nursery rhyme Maman used to sing to him when he couldn’t sleep because of nightmares.

‘London Bridge is falling down,

falling down, falling down,

London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.’ he sang softly.

It was a stupid song and Papa used to complain about it.

 _“If you’re going to sing, at least make it something worth listening too.”_ he’d say and Maman would just glare at him, willing him to shut up.

The memory brought a smile to the boy’s lips and he continued singing the next rhyme feeling a lot better.

‘Build it up with stick and stones,

Stick and stones, stick and stones,

Build it up with stick and stones my fair Lady.’

Sounds of voices came to his ear and he stopped singing. Straining his ear he tried making out what they were saying.

“…intruder…no longer a problem.” said Mukuro’s voice muffled by the distance.

“Kakipi…injured…”

Another voice he didn’t recognise was now talking to Mukuro, or so he assumed. The voices were growing fainter and fainter until they were no longer audible. Left to his own devices once again, Caelum started analysing what he knew.

He was being detained by Mukuro Rokudo, someone who had been experimented on by the _Estrangeo_ before being taken in by a small mafia Famiglia after the _Estrangeo_ had been massacred by an unknown person.

 _‘Unknown, yeah right…’_ he thought sarcastically to himself before continuing his train of thoughts.

For some reason, Rokudo Mukuro had killed the Famiglia who had ‘adopted’ him and was then sent to the prisons of the Vindice, of which he had obviously escaped. According to what he had just heard, an intruder had just been defeated, at least that was what he thought Mukuro meant by ‘no longer a problem’. What bothered him was that he didn’t know who the intruder was. Was it someone he knew? But nobody would know yet, would they? Now that he thought about it, he didn’t even know how long he had been in there…

Sighing, he started planning his next step.

 

** Shamal’s office, Shamal, Hayato, Bianchi and Reborn **

Hayato was sitting on a chair in the doctor’s office, still staring at the unexpected person sipping his espresso.

There had been an initial panic as Hayato entered. First because he hadn’t expected what he had seen, and then because he had caught sight of his sister’s face, thus getting instant stomach pains. It had taken a few minutes to settle down but they were now all ready to offer explanations.

“What is going on?” asked Hayato evidently referring to the espresso-sipping man.

The man in question was someone he had easily recognized thanks to the dark suit, fedora, and chameleon on his shoulder. Not to mention the fact that he still looked exactly the same as when he had first seen him.

“Why did Reborn-san change back? Or rather how?” he pressed on.

“Well, we’re not sure how.” started Shamal, looking a bit taken aback himself. “I was draining his flames to make new pills when he just suddenly…”

He trailed off, making wild gestures which the teen interpreted as ‘grew back into an adult’.

“I thought we couldn’t use his flames anymore for ‘obvious reasons’.” he frowned at the doctor, his gaze hardening threateningly.

Unexpectedly, it was the hitman who answered.

“I remember everything.” he said curtly.

Hayato stared at him eyes wide as saucepans. The man sounded really pissed off. But from the glare he was aiming at his cup, Hayato could tell the anger was directed at himself and not anyone else.

“Hayato, why did you come?” asked Bianchi who had been staring at her younger brother’s injuries.

The question snapped the boy out of his daze and his expression immediately darkened.

“Caelum was kidnapped.” he announced darkly. “By some guys wearing Kokuyo High’s uniform.”

With a resounding smash, the cup Reborn had been holding broke into a thousand pieces.

 

** Unknown location, Caelum **

It had been surprisingly easy to break out of his chains. He supposed Mukuro had counted on his injuries to immobilize him. As if. He’d teach the bastard to underestimate him!

He was now creeping in the shadows of the apparently abandoned building. He was singing the nursery rhyme in his head to keep the fear away, and kept all his senses in alert. Hearing nothing, he allowed himself a pause to look at the watch Shoichi had made for him. He pressed a button on the side of the orange watch and the screen switched. Only one bar out of five was full. Tsuna swore inwardly. This situation was going from bad to worse.

As one would expect, Mukuro had taken the box of pills when Tsuna had been captured. So in addition to having to deal with an escapee of Vindice he had a time limit. Blast him and his bad health.

Suddenly he got a really bad feeling. And just like in any self-respecting horror movie, the protagonist felt as if he should turn around, except he really didn’t want to! Cautiously, Tsuna turned to look behind him and had to hold back a scream. That was it! He just wanted to burst into tears and run away screaming!

There were two…things creeping towards him. They were probably humans but there faces looked horrible. They had no features, their mouths looked like they had been stitched and their eyes were just holes. On top of that they were twisting their long limbs in a super creepy way. Caelum bit his bottom lip willing himself not to cry. Why did things like that always happen to him? And to think he had always hated horror mansions and scary movies…

A flame burst to life on his forehead, and he gazed at the twins with fearless orange eyes.

 

** Sawada Household **

“So, why are we all gathered here?” asked Ienari slowly his gaze travelling on all the occupants of the room.

To say he was surprised would be the understatement of the century. He was feeling completely and utterly lost. First, Shamal and a grown-up Reborn had barged in with Hayato and his sister, despite the fact that Bianchi was supposedly out of town. Then they had ordered him with a gun to his head (Reborn was a little more than annoyed) to call Yamamoto Takeshi. For some reason, everyone who could fight was needed.

“Right,” started Shamal once everyone had settled in the boy’s room. “Caelum was kidnapped.”

“Who’s Caelum?” asked Ienari dumbfounded.

“My son.” snapped Reborn angrily.

Ienari blinked in surprise before gulping. He could practically see the dark flames of wrath emanating from the hitman.

Shamal glanced at Reborn, silently praying that he wouldn’t go berserk.

“The point is that we’re going to rescue him.” said Shamal. “Thanks to Dino we managed to find some clues as to who it could be. Also, the recent attacks on Namimori Middle School students have been done by the same people.”

“Who is it?” asked Yamamoto who looked more serious than ever before.

“Rokudo Mukuro, a mass murderer who somehow managed to escape from the Vindicare Prison. He is extremely dangerous.” said Shamal. “We’ve traced him back to a place called Kokuyo Land, here, in Namimori.”

“The old amusement park?” enquired Nari.

“Yes.” answered Bianchi, who was wearing a kangaroo mask. “We suspect that Caelum is being held there.”

Everyone jumped as a gunshot resounded. Automatically they all turned to Reborn.

“I’m done wasting time.” said the hitman in a calm tone that promised murder. “I’m going to kill these guys with my dying will. If you come don’t get in my way.”

With those ominous words, he left the room.

Shamal sighed. It was in time like these that he remembered the true meaning of ‘the calm before the storm’.

“There’s something I want to research so I won’t accompany you.” he said turning to Bianchi. “If you see Hibari Kyoya in Kokuyo Land, release that will you.”

He gave the woman one of his numerous mosquito case. The pink haired woman looked at him questioningly causing the man to clear his throat in an attempt to hide his slight embarrassment.

“One of my mosquitoes gave him an allergy by accident…”


	25. Chaos has come

** Kokuyo Land, Rescue Group 1 **

“So this is Kokuyo Land…” remarked Takeshi as he and the rest of the group stood in front of the entrance gate.

“It’s kind of creepy…” muttered Nari, shifting uncomfortably.

He had never told anyone this, but he was mortally scared of ghosts and whatever else populated horror movies. He blamed this entirely on his father. Sawada Iemitsu had indeed been the one to show his son one of the most terrifying movies in history when he was at the tender age of four. He had never been the same after that.

A shiver ran down the blonde’s spine.

He had been left crying for hours after the end of the movie and the nightmares had continued on for months. It was one of the few times in his life he had seen his mother yell at his father. Nana had positively screamed at her husband and had there not been a child in the room she would probably have insulted him as well.

“Is the whole area a ruin?” asked Hayato, gazing at the collapsing buildings and broken attractions.

“Yes. It was an entertainment resort once, and they even planned renovations. But a landslide caused it to close down.” explained Bianchi.

“It’s like the remnants of a dream…” mused Takeshi aloud.

The silver haired bomber went closer to the gate in order to examine the chain keeping it closed.

“It’s all rusted over.” he announced. “Looks like those guys don’t use it as an entrance. What shall we do?”

“We’ve already decided right?” said Bianchi taking out a plate of poisoned food. “We’re going straight through the front door.”

Her three companions gulped and took a step back, not wanting any contact with the ominous dish.

“Poison cooking, Sakura Cake!” exclaimed the pink haired woman as she threw the purple dessert on the gates.

The iron doors melted away in an instant and the group proceeded forward, careful not to touch the melted remains of the metallic frame.

“I wonder where Reborn is?” said Ienrai trying to distract himself from the creepiness of the place they had entered. “We didn’t catch up to him after all.”

 

** Kokuyo Land, Rescue Group 2 **

Reborn had gotten inside the entertainment resort without encountering anyone. This was probably due to the fact that nobody knew he had intruded yet. He was, after all, the number one hitman. He was more than capable of making his way into a ruin unnoticed. He had thus ended up arriving in front of the resort’s main building, before his companions arrived at the front gates. He hadn’t entered immediately, preferring to observe the collapsing building from all sides, checking for any signs of life.

Once he was done, he grabbed hold of Leon who transformed into his favourite gun and cautiously entered the building.

He walked soundlessly in a way only trained individuals could. Even his breathing was soundless.

He crept through dark corridors, keeping all his senses in alert. All of a sudden, he stopped. From a distance came the sound of a voice. He strained his ear and carefully made his way closer. It was a high pitched voice that was singing. The tune seemed familiar but he couldn’t make out the words.

As he got closer and closer, the words started getting clearer. As soon as he heard them, he knew which song the voice was singing.

With a smirk, he quickened his pace. A few moments later, he stopped in front of a wall. There was no doubt in his mind that the singing was coming from behind it. He raised his gun which promptly changed into a bazooka and shot.

With a deafening sound, the wall broke into pieces. A cloud of dust, made it impossible to see inside the room beyond, but Reborn never lost his calm as he patiently waited for a person to emerge. He didn’t have to wait long as just a few seconds later, a hand grabbed the morsel of wall that was still standing. A fluffy yellow bird flew out of the hole Reborn had made, singing Namimori Middle School’ hymn.

“Chaos, Hibari Kyoya.” greeted the hitman with a smirk as a boy with black hair and steel-coloured eyes came appeared.

 

** Kokuyo Land, Rescue Group 1 **

“HIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!”

The ear splitting screech that left Nari’s mouth caused birds to fly away.

An enormous, wolf-like dog had just jumped on Yamamoto. The dark haired boy was struggling to keep it from biting him.

“This thing…” he exclaimed with a look of surprise.

He didn’t have time to end his sentence for the animal spit out blood in his face.

“…is already dead.” he finished as the thing collapsed to the ground.

This did nothing to reassure Nari who had ran behind a tree, trembling and eyes wide with tears, as soon as the zombie had made its appearance.

As soon as the dog hit the ground, two more rushed towards the group. Hayato intercepted one and sent it flying with a few sticks of dynamite.

“That one’s an animated carcass too.” he growled.

“IIIIIIIIIEEEEE!” screamed Nari while running away as he was followed by the second zombie.

Yamamoto took it upon himself to run after them in an attempt to save the blonde.

“Got you now, byon!” yelled an animalistic voice as the ground broke apart under the baseball player’s feet.

With a yell, the raven haired boy fell into the hole. His companions rushed forward.

“Oi, Baseball Idiot?!” called Hayato kneeling on the sides of the hole.

“Yamamoto! There’s something to your right!” said Nari frantically.

“Looks like there’s a weird animal down there.” commented Bianchi who looked nowhere near as worried as two teens next to her.

 

**_ Inside the hole _ **

“Welcome Yamamoto Takeshi.” said the ‘beast’ standing in the shadows.

The raven haired boy narrowed his eyes and took out his bat. It had been a present from Reborn. Though it looked like a bat, it was actually a weapon as it was able to change into a katana.

“Kakipi’s asleep you know.” continued the stranger. “I’ve got no orders to follow and nothing to do. I’m super bored, byon. There here comes my prey all by himself. That makes me…”

He walked forward revealing himself and his maniacal smile.

“…Super happy!”

 

** Kokuyo Land, Caelum **

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” repeated the brunet as he stood glued to the wall watching the bodies of the monster-like twins.

It was just unfair that out of all the places he could have thrown in, fate had chosen a building taken straight out of a horror movie. He had always been bad with scary things. To this day he remembered the first horror movie he had ever watched. He had screamed louder than the main character.

He shut his eyes tight and ran away, not able to withstand the sight of the half-dead beings at his feet.

He stopped running after he had rounded the corner. He leaned against the wall panting heavily. God! He hated scary things. He was terrified of them and he was sure it was bad for his health! He could already feel himself weakening. His heart was beating more strongly in his chest, in a way that announced heart failure. His stamina was running out a lot more quickly as well.

 _‘I’ve got to find Mukuro quickly and take my pills back.’_ he thought as he examined the rooms he passed.

He peeked inside another room. It was larger than the ones he already walked past and he cautiously entered it. It was vast and its emptiness made it look even bigger. He walked a few steps. Listening to a warning from his Hyper Intuition, Caelum went into Hyper Dying Will mode, his eyes blazing orange.

“Who’s there?” he asked the empty room.

Sounds of metal chains and heavy footsteps answered him. He turned to the far end of the room where a ragged curtain was hanging from the ceiling. The curtain was opened, revealing a muscular man with spiky black hair and a mincing gaze. In his hand he held a thick black chain which was linked to a massive ball of iron, with strange snake-like patterns engraved on it.

Orange eyes narrowed as they analysed the man’s strange weapon.

“It’s good that you’re here.” said the brunet, his gaze unwavering. “I wanted to ask you something.”

The man didn’t answer.

“What did you do with Fuuta and Lambo?”

“No idea.” said the man curtly before lifting the chain and throwing the ball forward.

Caelum leapt away from it.

_‘Weird. It’s pretty slow. Even in my state it’s easy to avoid…’_

At the last moment, however, the iron ball changed its course and flew towards him. Caelum found himself flying through the room due to the force of the impact.

“No path exists for you to live.” said the man in a deep voice that held, as strange as it seemed, a note of sadness. “Abandon all hope.”

As he got up, Caelum let his bangs fall onto his eyes and smirked.

“Quite right. No path exists for me to live.” he agreed. “With that said, the closer I am to Death, the stronger is my Dying Will.”

He straightened up, revealing his gaze.

“As it is, if I let you defeat me, I’ll never be able to die in peace.” he announced strongly. “Just wait, I’m going to end your suffering.”

The man’s eyes widened slightly as he heard the last sentence. He recovered quickly as Caelum was flying towards him, his gloved fists alight with orange flames. The iron ball flew towards the brunet but rather than try to avoid it, he pushed it back towards its owner at full force.

Caelum watched as the ball impacted with his opponent who was sent flying into a wall. The wall crumbled and a cloud of dust rose, hiding the man from view.

The brunet frowned as a blurry shadow rose.

“It seems I underestimated you.” said the dark haired man as he walked away from the broken wall. “But ball playing is just a hobby to pass time.”

He rushed forward at full speed.

“My true speciality is hand-to-hand combat.” he told the boy as he threw a heavy punch in said boy’s face.

Caelum went flying backwards.

“Your kindness won't help you win, _Il Misericordioso_.”


	26. I hate losing

** Kokuyo Land, Rescue Group 1 **

All eyes were riveted on the blonde teen wearing the Kokuyo uniform who had just stepped into the light. His appearance was somewhat unusual. Apart from his spiky light blonde hair, he had sharp pointy teeth and a scar running across his face, just under his eyes. His tongue stuck out a little and would sometimes hang out like a dog’s.

“Are those guys above your friends?” the boy asked Takeshi before addressing their audience. “Just wait here because you’ll be next to die.”

Two thirds of the aforementioned ‘victims’ looked absolutely unimpressed at this statement, though the other third was at that point ready to faint out of sheer fear.

Yamamato’s resounding laughter distracted Nari from his fear, as the blonde surprised by his dark haired friend’s lack of tension started paying attention to him instead of his opponent.

“Hey, you’re quite strong aren’t you?” said Yamamoto. “The zombie dog puppets earlier looked really real.”

Everybody else sweat-dropped at that comment, and one particular ran through the minds of the three spectators: _‘oh yeah, he still thinks we’re playing a mafia game’_.

“Let’s just leave this idiot here and go save Caelum.” suggested Hayato bluntly.

“But if we did that, Caelum would be angry.” said Bianchi, just as serious as her brother.

Nari gazed at them disbelievingly. Did these people not worry about their friend’s welfare at all? Not to mention it irritated him that they were always talking about that Caelum guy when he had no idea who he was. Even Reborn was gaga over him. And Shamal treated him despite his being a guy! Nari had difficulties imagining what kind of person Caelum was. At the very least, he must be a pretty amazing person.

A loud crunching noise woke him up from his daydreaming and he turned back to look at the fight with a bit of guilt. His eyes widened when he realized what had caused the noise. Yamamoto’s bat had been broken. And seeing as bits of metal were coming out of the blonde teen’s mouth, he had bitten it off.

“I’ll gouge out your throat next.” threatened the best-like boy who was standing on all fours.

“Th-that guy’s not human!” whimpered Nari.

Even Gokudera looked like he didn’t get it.

“Is he cursed?” he wondered before he got ‘oh I got it’ expression. “He’s an alien!”

“Like hell he is.” countered Bianchi mercilessly, now paying attention to the fight below.

“I see this mafia role-playing game is one where you have to beat your opponent to death.” said Yamamoto. “So that’s the rule then.”

“Yamamoto…Doesn’t he get scared or anything?” muttered Nari as he gazed at the determination in his friend’s eyes.

“It seems to me that he’s the type who hates to lose.” replied Bianchi. “He probably isn’t as calm as he looks.”

The blonde looked at her appreciatively.

“You’re very insightful, aren’t you, Bianchi?”

The woman’s expression darkened.

“No, it’s just that I knew someone like that. No matter what he would be smiling, even when he was so pissed off that he was preparing to torture you.”

“Ah…I see.” said Nari wide-eyed and unsure of what to reply.

“By the way, can I ask you something?” said Yamamoto suddenly catching everybody’s attention once more. “You didn’t suddenly get replaced, so how do you do it?”

His three companions looked as interested as he was in the answer as none of them could figure out how the boy changed from a (somewhat) normal appearance to this beast-like form he took on to fight.

“It’s just like changing cartridge to play different games.” explained the Kokuyo student. “This is the same thing.” he said pointing to his teeth. “By changing the cartridge, I can take on the abilities of different animals. For example…Kong Channel!”

As he said this, the blond teen replaced his teeth by a new set. Immediately, he became bulkier and black hairs appeared on his arms and legs.

“That’s a GG Gorilla subspecies of the orang-utan, which belongs to the primate order.” commented Bianchi on the side earning herself critical looks from the boys at her side.

 

** Kokuyo Land, Caelum **

The dark haired man had not been joking when he had said his forte was hand-to-hand combat. Ever since the start of the fight, Caelum had taken some pretty heavy blows. Whoever he was, his opponent had obviously dabbled into martial arts, although his style spoke of experience in street fights. On top of being strong, he was fast. Caelum was barely keeping up with him and it wasn’t just because he was in a weakened state.

A punch to the stomach caught him unaware and he gasped in pain. Not losing any time the man knee-kicked him in the jaw sending him flying to the floor. Before he had time to react the brunet was being held by a powerful hand on the floor.

“Now, for the finishing blow.” said the dark haired man calmly eyelids dropping down.

“Ah! You’re doing it again.”

His eyes flew open as the teenager uttered this ‘innocent’ remark.

“Every time you’re about to give a finishing blow, you close your eyes.” elaborated Caelum. “You’re not that evil of a person.”

The boy gave a soft chuckle.

“What did you say?” growled the man, though his wide eyes indicated he was flustered from the boy’s observation.

“I’m saying that that weak will of yours will never defeat mine.” answered Caelum in a confident and unwavering voice.

With a sudden burst of flames, Caelum sent the man flying backwards, successfully freeing himself from the hold. He got to his feet smiling. A few feet away, the dark haired man was also getting back up on his feet.

“Don’t talk as if you know about me!” he growled. “I have the will to kill you!”

Caelum smirked.

“That’s a lie.” he said calmly.

“SHUT UP!” yelled the man as he shot forward.

Caelum rushed to meet him, never losing his confident (and slightly irritating) smile. The brunet waited until the last moment to throw a heavy punch in the man’s stomach. The man fell to his knees, spitting out blood. Caelum could pack a pretty good punch, if he said so himself, and boosting it with flames always helped.

“How could I lose?” mumbled the man who sounded as if he was about to collapse.

“I told you, your will is weak.” answered Caelum, whose smile had finally left his face. “There’s guilt in your heart conflicting with your actions.”

Caelum dropped to one knee and looked at the man with a slightly amused expression.

“You remind of the kids at home, for some reason.” he told him.

A faint smile appeared on the man’s face.

“I guess your name isn’t just for show, _Il Misericordioso_.” he said.

The smile dropped of his face as his expression darkened.

“Three years ago I was part of a Famiglia in Northern Italy. I was an orphan and in order to repay the boss who had taken me in, I served as a family bodyguard. Then one day, the boss brought another orphan. I took care of the boy and loved him as if he was my brother. But then the incident happened.” he paused. “I came back one day, to find that everyone in the family had been killed. “

“Rokudo Mukuro?” enquired Caelum softly.

“Me.” spat the man. “It was all me. After that, I woke up many times to find myself in front of a pile of corpses. And before I knew it I had become his killing machine. I’ve been controlled by him all this time!”

Silence followed this declaration. Caelum had hidden his eyes behind his bangs and the flame had disappeared from his forehead.

“What’s your name?” he asked after a moment.

“Lancia.” answered the man sounding drained of all energy.

“Lancia…” said Caelum after letting silence fall on them again. “About your family…”

The brunet seemed to hesitate as he trailed off.

“What is it?” asked the dark haired man, visibly curious.

“Ah no, never mind.” said Caelum averting his eyes from Lancia’s gaze. “Anyway I’ll be on my way now. It’d be best if you got some rest. See ya.”

He walked briskly to the doorway.

“ _Il Misericordioso_!” called back Lancia before he left.

“Call me Caelum, or Tsuna, whichever you prefer.” cut off the brunet with a tired smile.

The man nodded.

“About Rokudo Mukuro, is true aim is…”

The teen lifted a hand, effectively stopping the man.

“I know. Mukuro is one awkward kid, isn’t he?”

 

** Kokuyo Land, Rescue Team 2 **

Reborn and Hibari had advanced in silence for about ten minutes before they met their first opponent. They had just gotten to the staircase that would lead them to the upper floors where they suspected Mukuro and Caelum would be when a boy with sort black hair stepped in front of them. The yo-yo clutched in his hand told Reborn all he needed to know.

“Kakimoto Chikusa, right?” said the hitman. “You’re the one who was defeated by Gokudera.”

If the boy felt insulted by the comment, he did not show it. Without a word, he threw his yo-yo at them, releasing needles which both Reborn and Hibari easily avoided.

“I’ll bite that herbivore to death.” said the Namimori Middle School Prefect, taking out his tonfas.

Reborn smirked. Despite his blank face, he knew Hibari was thoroughly pissed off. That guy really hated losing after all. No doubt the teen would make sure to beat the hell out of all those still standing to make up for his earlier loss.

“I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Hn.”

Kakimoto Chikusa attacked again, and the both of them dodged once more. Reborn jumped to the side and slipped behind their attacker with ease.

“Sorry, but I don’t have time to play with you.” he told the Kokuyo student from behind.

The boy briefly looked stunned and somewhat glad to see the dangerous fedora-wearing guy leave, but soon went back to his usual expressionless mask.

Tipping his fedora at Hibari, Reborn took his leave, silently slipping into the shadows.


	27. Unwavering Vow

** Kokuyo Land, Rescue Group 1 **

“I feel like I’m being told to play outside with the kids while the adults take care of the serious business.” remarked Bianchi as their group was once again held up by opponents.

After long minutes of Yamamoto fighting with the beast boy yet protecting himself, Bianchi had lost patience. She had pushed Nari into the hole, forcing Yamamoto to choose between protecting his body or his friend. Her strategy had been successful as the baseball player had stopped hesitating and sacrificed his arm to beat his opponent. The beast boy having fled after being defeated, Bianchi and her brother had helped the two boys in getting out of the hole. They had then continued towards the main building.

And just as they had arrived in front of it, an old man with fluffy yellow birds and a red haired girl had appeared. Hence, Bianchi’s annoyed comment.

“Yeah, it does feel that way, doesn’t it?” agreed Hayato. “At this rate, Reborn-san will have found Caelum and brought him home before we get inside the building.” he sighed.

“That’s right. We have to get inside no matter what. This is a matter of pride.” said Bianchi.

“Is it?” muttered her brother.

Thankfully she didn’t hear so caught in her rant that she was.

“Leave that girl to me, I’ll crush her.” she said looking like an avenging demoness. “You can beat up the old man.”

“No thanks.”

 

** Kokuyo Land, Caelum **

After leaving Lancia to rest, the brunet had started looking for Rokudo Mukuro. For one thing he was sure that Lambo and Fuuta would be wherever the older boy was. Also, while he was fighting Lancia he had understood what Rokudo Mukuro was after and as such it was essential that Caelum met up with him. He felt that this too was a test. Retreat and send someone else to rescue the others or go himself and face the one who knew so many of his secrets. His choice had been quickly made.

It didn’t take long for him to find the room.

It was similar to the one he had woken up in but larger. Torn curtains were hanging in front of the windows as there had been in the other room. It seemed that it had once been destined to theatre as there was a kind of stage at the far end of the room. It had been converted into a kind of sofa which Rokudo Mukuro was casually sitting on. The trident he was holding kind of broke the homey feeling though.

“I’m glad you could make it.” said Mukuro sounding for all the world as if Caelum was making a social call.

Caelum didn’t answer as he had caught sight of a small figure standing on the side.

“Fuuta!” he exclaimed, taking a step towards the boy.

He froze immediately though as he noticed the blank look in the boy’s eyes. The child’s gaze was empty, similarly to how Lancia’s eyes had appeared when Caelum had first run into him.

“What did you do to him?” asked the brunet in a foreboding tone.

“Kufufu, I’ll leave it to your imagination.” chuckled the blue-haired teen.

Fuuta moved then. He advanced towards Caelum, raising a thin dagger. Caelum clicked his tongue. This mind-control thing was getting really bothersome. Plus, he thought glancing at his watch, his condition was really getting critical. There was only one bar left and it would disappear soon.

He dodged Fuuta’s clumsy attack. He had to take care of that first.

“Fuuta.” he called as the boy marched towards him in order to attack once again. “It’s not your fault.” said the brunet firmly as the boy swiped the weapon at him.

Caelum dodged once more, trying not to lose eye contact.

“None of it is your fault. It’s okay, I’m not angry.” the child seemed to freeze and Caelum smiled. “It’s all right, we’re all on your side. So just come back.”

Suddenly, Fuuta clutched his own head with a pained expression. His eyes went back to normal.

“Tsuna-nii…” he managed to say before collapsing.

The brunet sighed in relief, quickly checking that the younger boy was alright. Reassured, he turned to the blue haired boy.

“Well? What do you want with me?” he asked raising an eyebrow, his expression guarded.

The older teen chuckled eerily.

“We actually came to Japan to look for the Vongola Decimo.” said the boy with a good-natured shrug. “Imagine our surprise when we came upon your tracks.”

Caelum frowned.

“What do you want with the Vongola heir?” he asked stonily.

Mukuro’s expression darkened.

“We hate the Mafia. You should understand. You hate them too, don’t you?” he said darkly.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

“It’s true that I hate the darker side of the mafia. If possible I would go back and erase them before they did those experiments.” agreed Caelum. “However, there are also good Famiglias. Personally, I hold no grudge against the Vongola.”

“Don’t you?” sneered the other.

“No.” stated Caelum firmly. “My hatred towards that man is directed at him only.”

The other teen gazed at him appraisingly before letting out a chuckle.

“You really are strange.”

“Shut up.” muttered the brunet averting his eyes. “Anyway, you didn’t bring me here to talk about my views on the mafia did you?” he added more firmly.

Mukuro remained silent causing Caelum to sigh.

“You really are an awkward kid.” he said.

The blue haired teen’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

“I do not wish to hear that from you.” he said with strained politeness.

“As it happens, I already know what you want.” continued the brunet ignoring the other boy’s comment.

“Is that so?” asked Mukuro disbelievingly.

Caelum smiled.

“Yeah, I heard you loud and clear Mukuro.” he stated. “I will do it, you know. I swear to you, I will save as many times as needed.”

A smile appeared on Mukuro’s face and he chuckled in that creepy manner of his.

“In that case, I shall give this back to you.”

He rose and walked over to the brunet handing him the box of pills. Caelum made to snatch it but was suddenly hit by exhaustion. He collapsed on the floor, his vision blurry.

“That illness, really is problematic.” commented Mukuro. “This is why I never want to possess your body.”

 

** Kokuyo Land, Reborn **

Caelum lying on the floor unconscious, with Mukuro Rokudo hovering over him was the scene Reborn witnessed when he got to the room. Without thinking he fired at Mukuro, his dark eyes burning with anger.

“I’m going to kill you.” he snarled.

The teenager took the time to carefully place the box he had been holding next to the sleeping brunet before rising to his feet.

“Oya, oya, that is quite the declaration.” said Mukuro sounding amused. “But it would be a bother if you underestimated me.”

The hitman tipped his fedora forward, effectively hiding his eyes from view.

“You sound confident.”

Mukuro chuckled.

“Do you know of the six paths of reincarnation?” he asked.

“The cycle of rebirth?” answered Reborn. “With the realm of hell, the realm of the hungry ghosts, the realm of animals, the realm of demons, the realm of humans and the realm of heavens?”

“Yes. My body has already been through all six paths and it has all been carved into my memory.” said Mukuro.

“If that’s the truth, then you’re a monster.”

The blue haired teen chuckled.

“I do not want to hear that from you, Arcobaleno.” he said tapping the bottom of his trident on the floor.

Immediately their surroundings started breaking apart, creating a scene of utter chaos.

“Your illusions won’t work on me.” was all Reborn said before he attacked.

As soon as Reborn started moving, the fight became a blur. Both opponents were incredibly skilled and bot had abilities beyond the human potential. However, it quickly became clear that Reborn had the advantage. Mukuro was slowly but surely being forced into a corner. The boy glanced at he collapsed the brunet. It seemed it was inevitable, now. That one had better keep his promise. He saw the blow coming and knew there was no avoiding it.

 _‘I shall be waiting for you, Caelum’_ , he thought before sinking into darkness.

As soon, as his opponent fell unconscious, Reborn went to his son’s side. He gently lifted the boy’s upper body from the floor, sliding an arm under his back. With his free hand he checked the boy’s pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the regular heart beat under his fingers. At that moment, the boy’s eyes fluttered open.

“Pa…pa?” he muttered dazedly.

The hitman pulled the boy into his arms without a word. He felt the boy’s face press against his neck and knew from the wetness he was feeling that the boy was crying.

“This is a dream isn’t it?” whispered the boy. “Well, it doesn’t matter ‘cause it’s a nice dream.”

Tiny hands gripped the back of his suit and he reflexively held the boy tighter. A few moments later, the boy’s breathing became more regular and Reborn guessed he had fallen asleep. He gathered the boy, who still clinging to him, in his arms and got up. As he set off to join with the others and finally go home, he thought it was a miracle his eyes were still dry.


	28. Home is where the heart is

** Kokuyo Land, Main Building, Reborn **

The hitman was walking quickly. The boy in his arms was sleeping peacefully. He had checked the boy’s watch earlier as Shamal had told him to do and it seemed that Caelum had been able to take a pill recently. He was still worried though and was eager to go back home and have Shamal examine him. He was also unsure of how long his body would remain in adult form. If his body suddenly turned back into an infant’s he wouldn’t be able to carry Caelum. All in all, he didn’t like being the only one able to take care of Caelum in his present state.

He was therefore quite glad when he felt his ally’s presence. His lips stretched into a smirk as he rounded a corner and caught sight of the raven haired boy.

“Chaos, Hibari.” he said as met the boy’s silver gaze.

Charcoal eyes travelled to the remains of the Skylark’s opponent.

“You didn’t kill him, did you?” he enquired lightly.

The teenager didn’t reply, simply glancing at the brunet in the hitman’s arms. Reborn interpreted his silence as a ‘no’.

“Good. Caelum would have complained if you had.”

With these words, he walked past the raven haired teen. Without a word, the teenager followed. There was a sound of flapping wings and a yellow ball of fluff came flying above their heads.

“Hibari!” chirped the bird. “Hibari!”

“Picked up a herbivore, did you?” remarked Reborn with amusement, glancing back at the boy.

The Prefect returned his gaze evenly.

“Hn. So did you.”

 

** Kokuyo Land, Rescue Group 1 **

With a resounding war cry, Bianchi threw a lethal poisonous pie in the red haired girl’s face. MM and her microwave-like instrument had proved to be less challenging than they had initially thought. It seemed Bianchi was quite intent on saving her ‘pride’ as she called it and the fight had ended in less than a minute. Meanwhile, Hayato had blown a hole in the ground and thrown the old man inside.

“YOU’LL NEVER DEFEAT ROKUDO MUKURO…!” yelled the old coot at him.

The silver haired teen shut him by kicking some sand into his face.

“Shut up, eat sand.” he said.

Bianchi who was now done on her own side walked over to the side of the hole carrying a large stone.

“You’re too soft Hayato.” she said dropping the rock inside the hole. “I wonder if those twitching motions are his way of pretending he’s dying.”

“He probably is dying.” answered her brother uncaringly.

“They’re a bit scary aren’t they?” commented Nari on the side.

Yamamoto laughed good-naturedly.

“Maa, I guess it shows they really are siblings!” he said brightly.

Nari sweat-dropped. He swore those people’s minds didn’t work the right way.

“Reborn!”

Bianchi’s love-struck call caused them to look at the building’s entrance. The tall hitman was walking towards them, carrying a boy with spiky brown hair in his arms. Hibari Kyoya was trailing behind him looking positively murderous. Discreetly, Bianchi released the mosquito given to her by Shamal. Her duty accomplished he ran over to the love of her life.

“Reborn! You found Caelum!” she said looking straight at the dark haired man and completely ignoring the brunet.

“Yeah.” said the man, not paying her any attention.

“Where is he, then?” asked Yamamoto. “And why is Sawa here? What happened to him?”

“Sawa Tsunayoshi is Caelum, Baseball Idiot.” snarled Hayato, glaring daggers at the dark haired teen.

“HAAAA?! But they’ve been acting like strangers all the time. How can Sawa be Reborn’s son?” said Nari, thoroughly confused.

The hitman tilted his face forward so that his fedora would hide his eyes from view.

“Baka-Nari, you’d better prepare yourself for hell.” he said.

“Eh?”

“You sure hit where it hurts.” remarked Gokudera with a pitying gaze at the blonde.

“EEEEH?!”

Leaving his panicking student to the care of Goudera and Yamamoto, the hitman gazed at the brunet in his arms.

“Reborn…” said Bianchi softly.

She had dropped her love-struck expression and looked slightly worried, though he couldn’t tell who exactly it was that she was worried about.

“I’m taking him home.” said Reborn simply, refusing to meet her eye. “Go and grab that brat upstairs, will you?”

 

** Shamal’s office, Shamal **

The doctor was sitting at his desk. The computer in front of him was showing various diagrams and equations, which could only make sense to those aware of what they stood for. He was holding his phone to his ear and was listening intently to what was being said on the other side of the line.

“Yes, that’s what I was thinking as well.” he said after a moment.

There was silence again as the other person talked through the phone.

“Wait a moment.”

He trapped the phone between his head and his shoulder, while he typed quickly, and opened a new set of data.

“Yes, that’s right.” he said confirming what the other person had said.

He took hold of the phone once more.

“If we could find a way to stock it somewhere, it might be possible to make it permanent. Though the problem isn’t so much stocking as using once it’s been stocked.”

A pause.

“Well that’s true for Reborn, but it would be trickier for the others. Not that we are obligated to help them, of course.”

The sound of typing came through the phone, as his interlocutor’s voice sounded once more.

“Right, I’ll send the data over to you.” said Shamal before pausing to let the other talk. “I see, I’ll be looking forward to the results then.”

In the next moment, only the sounds of typing and clicking were heard.

“I’ve sent it all.” said Shamal at last. “And one last thing. Don’t tell anyone about this, I’d rather keep it secret for now. Just in case.”

After exchanging farewells, Shamal hung up, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. He glanced at the clock. It was about time the others finished the rescue mission. Which meant he should get ready to go to the Sawada Household to examine Caelum.

 

** Sawada Household, _Tsuna’s bedroom_ , Reborn **

The hitman placed the brunet on his bed with uncommon gentleness. He then, let himself fall on the side of the bed where he sat looking at the sleeping boy. It seemed to him that Caelum had not changed much in three years. The teen still had his childish round features and the soft mane of light brown hair which stuck at odd angles. His bangs had grown longer and now fell on either side of his face with one strand falling between his eyes. They reached down to his cheeks now, when they had only reached the top of his eyes before.

Absent-mindedly, the man brushed a strand of hair, which covered the boy’s closed eye.

But even though, he could still easily recognize the child he had left behind three years prior, it was clear to him that Tsuna was not the same boy anymore. Ah…that’s what it was. He was more like Tsuna than Caelum now. Tsuna as he had first met him. A sickly child with extremely pale skin, a sad smile and lonely yet kind brown eyes. Caelum was brighter. With a smile that shone with its own light and an energy that defied his physical condition. Caelum was a child who scarcely cried. He carried himself with innocence mixed with a strange awareness of the darker side of the world.

Tsuna on the contrary, was a young man who was all too familiar with the taste of tears and had probably forgotten how to smile whole-heartedly. He was someone who knew the world’s ugliest side and had lost all innocence he might have had to it. He was young, yet seemed like an old man, both in his wisdom and health.

Where Caelum had had a future, Tsuna had none.

The hitman’s hand trailed downwards settling on the child’s chest, just above the heart. It was unsettling to think that the regular beat he could feel would stop all too soon. Tsuna would die. He wouldn’t have a pulse anymore…

Dark eyes stopped on the chain, visible under the boy’s collar. He looked at it curiously.

Tsuna as he knew him, had never been one for accessories. Not that he disliked them. He simply couldn’t be bothered with them. He had the same kind of attitude with clothes and always went for simple and practical rather than fashionable. It had driven Reborn to his limits more than once as the hitman was the kind of person who took extra care of his appearance.

Intrigued by the silver chain, Reborn reached towards it. He stopped just before he grabbed it. Should he really? It might be something important. If it was Tsuna might not appreciate the breech of intimacy. The hitman hesitated. He was about to leave the chain where it was when something gnawed at him. It was a strange feeling. It made him move before he could think better of it.

Delicately, he lifted the chain with his long fingers and lifted it. It was heavier than he had expected which meant that there was probably a kind of pendant hanging from it. He continued dragging the chain out of the boy’s shirt until he caught sight of the pendant.

His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened as the object fell back on Tsuna’s chest.

“No.” he whispered disbelievingly. “Why?”

He reached to touch the orange Pacifier wrapped in tiny chains. His heart beating loudly in his chest, he carefully unwrapped the chains. As soon as the last chain fell, the Pacifier starting glowing. Reborn’s Sun Pacifier responded with its own yellow glow.

“Why did this happen?” whispered Reborn, his blank mask failing for a moment and revealing an expression of despair.

Then, without warning, his body started shortening, regressing to the form of an infant once again.


	29. The Me of Yesterday

** Sawada Household, Tsuna **

_He was sitting in the Venetian park not far from the apartment he had started renting after Papa had left. He had been to a lot of places and had moved from town to town during the three years he had lived on his own, but Venetia had been his favourite. This park in particular was a place he loved a lot. The bench he was sitting on now was the perfect spot. It was in the part of the park furthest from the entrance, so few people walked by. The bench was situated under a wooden kiosk and was therefore protected from the weather._

_It was on days like this one, when rain poured down from the sky, that Caelum liked to stay sitting there for hours. He would sit in the only dry spot of the park, watching everything else drown. It felt like he was in his own little world, separated from the rest by the veil of falling water. He would take out the flat metal box in which rested in his pocket, his only memento of the time spent with his father, and gazed at it, letting himself remember the good times. He found it calming, especially since there was never anyone to disturb his peace on such occasions._

_Today, however, was an exception._

_No sooner had the downpour started that a woman ran under the kiosk. She had jet black which fell on her shoulders and eyes of a brilliant blue. Under her left eye, was an orange mark shaped like a flower. When their eyes met, the woman smiled. A warmth in his heart associated with the orange Pacifier which marked her as the Sky Arcobaleno told the brunet that the woman could be trusted and he found himself smiling back._

_“Can I sit next to you?” asked the woman politely._

_“Of course.” he replied snapping the box shut before she had time to see what it contained._

_“My name is Aria.” she told him as she sat. “Aria of the Giglio Nero Famiglia.”_

_“It’s nice to meet you.” answered the boy, showing he had no attention of returning the favour by introducing himself._

_The woman didn’t insist, but gazed at him thoughtfully. Pity shone in her eyes and the brunet knew what she saw when she looked at him. She saw a pale and thin boy, who from the dark rings under his eyes to the slight trembling of his fingers showed all the signs of illness. The fatal kind. As she examined him, the brunet noticed her fingertips kept brushing on the orange Pacifier she wore around her neck. His intuition told him all he needed to know._

_“Don’t pity me.” he told her sternly, his brown eyes hardened. “I can carry that weight.”_

_She met his eyes with surprise, before smiling and reaching for the chain. She lifted it up and took it off. She then slipped it around the boy’s neck. As it took its place against his torso, the Pacifier shone briefly._

_“I’m sorry, that I must put this weight upon you.” she said remorsefully._

_The brunet reached to touch the Pacifier._

_“Don’t be.” he said kindly. “You did the right thing.”_

_Aria suddenly grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. A tear escaped her eye as a small hand gently patted her back. She pulled away after a moment and the boy got to his feet._

_“My name is Caelum. It was nice to meet you Miss Aria.” he told her before walking away in the rain._

Tsuna woke up suddenly, his eyes shooting open. Strange, he thought as he looked at the ceiling above him, that he would dream of the day he became an Arcobaleno. A faint glow on his chest suddenly caught his attention and he sat up in a hurry. Why was his Pacifier visible? He looked around him in panic, finally spotting the infant sitting on a chair next to the bed.

He stared wide-eyed, and it wasn’t because the baby was wearing an Armani suit.

Reborn. Why was he here? He had seen. Seen the Pacifier. He was a baby. Had _Papa_ ’s reappearance been all a dream then? Probably. It wasn’t so bad then. Reborn was an Arcobaleno as well so he would have found out eventually anyway. Yeah, it was fine as long as he didn’t remember…

“Care to explain what this is about, Dame-Caelum.” finally said the baby, looking at the brunet with piercing black eyes.

Tsuna’s hopes came crashing down, while a small flicker of hope lit in his heart.

“I…”

And then it was too much. He had thought he had already cried all the tears in his body but it seemed they came in an endless flow. Salted water leaked from his eyes and ran like waterfall down his cheeks. Suddenly, he was child again. He extended his arms towards the infant, crying with all he had.

“Papa.” he chanted brokenly. “Papa.”

With a sigh, and his expression softening a little, Reborn got to his feet and walked into the boy’s embrace.

 

**_ Later _ ** ** , Shamal’s office, Shamal and Reborn **

Shamal was sitting at his desk, while Reborn had settled himself on a pile of papers on the desk. The doctor gazed at the hitman sipping his coffee thoughtfully.

“I see. He was the Sky Arcobaleno.” he murmured. “That could certainly explain why he took a sudden turn for the worst. I’m guessing the curse must be weighing heavily on his health.”

“Can you do anything?” asked Reborn in his usual impassive way, though Shamal was quite sure the hitman was affected a great deal by the matter.

“I’ll try to figure something out. I’m not making any promises though.” said Shamal.

He hesitated for a moment, to tell Reborn about his idea, but finally decided against it. It would be best to keep it a secret for now. He would tell them when he was sure it would work. It was for the best, after all.

“I’ve been thinking about what we should do once he’s better.”

Reborn’s comment successfully piqued the Doctor’s interest.

“What do you mean?”

Reborn looked at his coffee, his expression giving nothing away.

“That place, it’s probably better if he moves out of it.” said Reborn.

“You mean the Sawada Household?”

“Yeah.”

There was a pause during which both seemed lost in thoughts.

“Nana doesn’t mean any harm but both she and the house might be too overwhelming for Tsuna.” continued Reborn. “He was sick the first night.” he added as an after-thought.

Realization washed over Shamal’s face.

“Hmm. I see. That might certainly unsettle him quite a bit.” he admitted. “Having said that, his being sick might have to do with the fact that he was still weak from his previous attack. And that day must have been stressful for him. Arriving into that house must have been tough but maybe it was all those stressful things happening on top of one another that caused him to be sick.”

Reborn stayed silent.

“You should talk to him about it.” continued Shamal. “Even though I know what you think of them, it’s a chance for Tsuna to get to know them. They are his blood relatives after all.”

 

** Sawada Household, Tsuna and Nana **

A knock on his bedroom’s door snapped Tsuna out of his daze. He still couldn’t quite believe all that was happening and had been trying to come to terms with the fact that his _Papa_ was back, hopefully for good.

“Come in!” he called.

The door opened, revealing Nana carrying a tray of food.

“I thought you might start to be hungry.” explained the woman, placing the food in front of him before sitting on the side of the bed.

The brunet thanked the woman warmly before taking a spoonful of warm soup. She was right he had been feeling hungry but had been too caught up in his thoughts to do anything about it.

“It’s delicious.” he complemented taking another spoonful.

“Thank you.” said the woman with a warm smile.

There was a moment of silence during which Nana watched the teenager eat the soup.

“I was surprised when Nari told me you were Reborn’s son.” said Nana at last. “You must look like your mother. Your excellent manners are just like his though.”

Tsuna froze unnoticeably. Of course, she would say this, she didn’t know anything! He had to calm down. She didn’t mean any harm, after all.

“I don’t know if I look like my mother actually.” he said, smiling as best he could. “But it’s normal I don’t look like _Papa_ , since I was adopted.”

Not that it had ever been made official, but then Tsuna didn’t even exist to the eyes of the world.

“I see! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” exclaimed Nana looking shocked with herself.

“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter.” assured Tsuna gently.

He felt a pang of sadness when the woman smiled at him gratefully. Sawada Nana really was a kind person. She was always smiling and very gentle, excellent at housework and caring. She must have been a good mother to Nari. He shook himself out of his gloomy thoughts. He couldn’t think that way. He had been very lucky himself. _Papa_ had been an excellent father and he had had a _Maman_ as well. And despite the fact that his ‘parents’ were definitely not normal, and that _Maman_ had rarely been there, they had both loved him and cared for him. He really had no room to complain.

“Hmm. Well I’m glad you liked the soup at the very least.” said Nana sounding amused.

Tsuna looked down at the bowl and blushed. He had wiped it clean. He must have been really hungry.

“Yes, thank you very much.” he said, more than a little embarrassed.

“You’re very welcome.” she answered patting his head with a bright smile.


	30. The shadow behind your smile

** Sawada Household, _Morning_ **

Mornings in the Sawada household always started peacefully. Nana would get up first and start preparing breakfast. A loud bang and a tremor, or a resounding scream, usually announced her son’s arrival, which was almost immediately followed by Reborn’s. Lately, it had been her **sons’** arrival, as Tsuna, or Tsu-kun, as she liked to call him, had joined their household. He was, of course, not her son. He was Reborn’s son, which had been surprising at first. However, she saw her late baby in the boy, and had quickly come to think of him as her own. She knew that the brunet most likely did not think the same way and might well be put off if she was to tell him about it. After all, who would want to serve as a replacement for someone else? But she couldn’t help it. Not only did he share a name with her dead child, he also looked a lot like her with his light brown hair and warm brown eyes. Even his childish features resembled hers. It was difficult for the woman not to wish he really was her son.

A loud crashing noise came from a room upstairs and an obnoxious laughter that she associated with Lambo reached her ears.

Nana smiled joyfully and started placing plates and a cup of espresso on the table.

 

**_ Upstairs _ **

As Nana had guessed, Reborn had just gone to wake his student up in his usual brutal manner. This time he had transformed Leon in a miniature green crane and had lifted Nari to the ceiling. The crashing noise had been produced by the blonde boy hitting the floor after being dropped in mid-air. Still in his construction worker clothes, Reborn made his way to his son’s room, planning on repeating the process on the brunet. He entered the room and walked over to the bed where a lump under the covers indicated the boy’s presence. Reborn was about to make Leon transform when he suddenly grew suspicious. He swiftly jumped on the bed and lifted the covers revealing a carefully placed body pillow.

Reborn smirked.

That boy…

 

**_ Downstairs _ **

“Good morning.” called Tsuna as he entered the dining room.

“Ah! Tsu-kun! Good morning.” answered Nana beaming at him.

The brunet returned her smile and went to sit at the table where his breakfast was already waiting for him. It had been nearly a month now since he had arrived at the Sawada household and a few weeks since the Rokudo Mukuro incident. If things had fallen back in place with his _Papa_ , he still had trouble being around Nana. He didn’t dislike her. Quite the contrary really. He adored her. She was kind, an excellent cook and had always been affectionate towards him. She had accepted his being Reborn’s son without question and had all but adopted him and Lambo into her family. It was because she was so peerlessly nice that Tsuna felt guilty about hiding the truth from her.

“Na-kun, Reborn, good morning!”

Hearing Nana’s greeting, Tsuna turned around to face the newcomers.

“Good morning, Nari.” he said before adding with sarcastic sweetness. “Morning _Papa_.”

The blonde grumbled a reply both to his mother and the brunet but Reborn remained silent as he walked over to the seat next to his son.

“When did you get up?” asked the hitman casually after he had jumped on the chair.

“Just after you left to wake Ienari up.” answered Tsuna brightly. “I was in the bathroom when you went back to my room and I went down while you got fooled by the dummy.”

Reborn ‘hmphed’ but Tsuna could see the slight quirk of the hitman’s lips which showed he was amused by his son’s antics. Tsuna smiled happily. Really, if it wasn’t for the time limit hanging over his head like a guillotine, his life would be perfect.

It was that moment that Lambo chose to appear, laughing obnoxiously.

_Or maybe not…_

 

** Namimori, _an hour later_ **

“I’m leaving!” called Tsuna for Nana’s benefit as he opened the front door.

“Have a nice day!” called back Nana from the kitchen.

As Nari said his own goodbyes, Tsuna merrily left the house and joined the two boys waiting at the house gates.

“Good morning Hayato, Takeshi.” greeted the brunet as he bounced up to them.

The two teens greeted him back. Nari joined them and the four boys set off for school. Hayato and Takeshi were walking on either side of the small brunet, with Ienari walking a little distance away, on Takeshi’s right side. The blonde seemed to be only half-listening to what was being discussed between the other three. Tsuna noticed the boy’s withdrawal but didn’t comment on it as it had become something of a common occurrence in the past weeks. The brunet had confronted the blonde about it when he had first noticed it. But when Tsuna had asked if Ienari disliked him or was bothered by anything, the blonde had simply replied that he would rather observe. According to him, he had never been that close to Takeshi and especially to Hayato so he didn’t feel any loss of friendship between him and the other two.

Also, it seemed Ienari had something on his mind as the brunet would often catch him staring at him with a thoughtful look on his face. It was intriguing but Tsuna figured that if the blonde wanted to talk about it he would come to him of his own accord. Ienari wasn’t the type to hesitate to speak his mind, after all.

They soon reached their classroom, where Hana was waiting for their arrival with Kyoko.

The dark haired girl had taken to spending as much time as she could with the brunet even if she had to put up with the ‘monkeys’, as she often referred to Hayato, Takeshi and Ienari. She knew about Tsuna’s time limit. He had made sure to tell all of his friends about it.

“Tsuna, do you want to go out after school?” asked Hana. “Those monkeys can come too if you want.”

The brunet sweat-dropped. If _he_ wanted, uh? In other words, she didn’t give a damn about their opinion. How typical.

He was about to answer the girl when the door slid open. Conversations turned to hushed whispers and those closest to the entrance hurriedly stepped back. Intrigued by the sudden tenseness in the atmosphere, Tsuna turned around. The raven haired prefect was standing in the doorway staring straight at him.

Well, this explained that, he supposed.

Abandoning his previous conversation, the brunet hurried over to the feared Prefect.

“Good morning, Kyouya.” he greeted as he stopped in front of the boy.

Steel-like eyes looked down at him searchingly. There was no emotion Tsuna could decipher in that gaze, but it always felt like the Prefect could see everything about him. It was a bit unsettling. But once again, Tsuna didn’t comment on it. Nearly all of his friends had developed habits of that kind as of late and he had learned to accept them without a word. These habits were the incontestable proof that they cared about him after all.

A hand reached up to his head and flattened his hair a few times. Hibari’s version of a pat on the head.

“Hn.” was all the raven haired teen said before leaving the classroom.

Tsuna watched the Prefect’s back until he disappeared round the corner of the corridor. Hibari’s visit had become usual. When he didn’t see Tsuna at the school gates, the Prefect would come to check up on him in the classroom. To the brunet it seemed to be the same as Reborn checking his pulse when he found his son napping. Perhaps more than any of the others, Reborn and Kyouya who had seen him closest to death before were constantly checking that he was still alive.

“Tsuna-kun, is everything alright?”

The brunet turned to smile at the girl who had come up behind him.

“I’m fine. Thank you, Kyoko-chan.”

As the two of them walked back towards the others, Tsuna glanced at the windows. Though the sky was of a clear blue, dark clouds seemed to be advancing towards them.

 

** Namimori Town Center, _After school_ **

“We should go to the karaoke.” stated Hana firmly.

“What are you saying, stupid woman? If we’re going out, we’ve got to go to bowling!” snarled Hayato.

The two glared daggers at each other.

“How about we go and play baseball?” suggested Takeshi brightly.

The deathly glares converged to him. The raven haired boy gulped and quickly retreated.

“N-Never mind!” he said laughing lightly before fleeing towards Tsuna who was standing to the side with Kyoko, watching their two friends argue about the best destination.

As Hayato and Hana started yet another round of their shouting contest, a childish voice rang behind them.

“Tsuna-nii!”

The brunet turned to see Fuuta running towards him with I-Pin and Lambo trailing behind him.

“Fuuta? What are you doing here?”

“Uncle Reborn said Tsuna-nii and his friends would be going out playing today and he told us we could go with you.” answered the boy beaming at his ‘older brother’.

It was so typically his father’s behaviour that Tsuna stayed speechless. Of course Reborn would know they were planning on going out and of course he would make them babysit. Tsuna suspected that sending the kids with them was a way for Reborn to ensure that they would be careful and wouldn’t put themselves in dangerous situations. Since Nari wasn’t there, Reborn couldn’t be there himself so it made sense he would use an underhanded method like that.

“I see, well we haven’t quite decided where to go yet so if you have any suggestions…”

“I want to go to the arcade!” exclaimed Fuuta excitedly.

“Lambo-san wants to eat sweets!” squealed Lambo earning himself a reprimand from I-Pin.

“Lambo eats too much sweets.” said the girl in her unusually high pitched voice.

The sound of an explosion interrupted their light-hearted conversation.

A sense of dread washed over Tsuna as he looked around for the source of the disturbance. It didn’t take long for him to see the smoke coming from a nearby building.

“What’s going on?!” asked Hana sounding slightly panicked as she and Hayato hurriedly came closer to their group.

“Caelum, it might be best to leave quickly.” said Hayato softly as he approached the brunet.

Both teens wore an expression of dark seriousness which alerted even the girls that something bad might be happening.

“Tsuna?” called Hana questioningly seeing her friend’s brown gaze harden.

“Hana-chan, Kyoko-chan, can you take the kids back home?” asked Tsuna gently but firmly.

“Tsuna what are you planning?” enquired Hana urgently, frowning at the brunet.

The boy smiled at her reassuringly.

“We’re not going to do anything dangerous. We’ll just take a look and see if we can help. If it looks bad we’ll leave immediately. Okay?”

The girl hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Alright, kids. We’re going home for today.” she announced firmly, dragging the trio and Kyoko away.

No sooner had the girls left that another explosion sounded and a boy came soaring through the sky. Tsuna barely had the time to yelp in surprise before the boy landed on him, sending him to the ground.

“What the…” he groaned as he looked at the human projectile.

The boy looked to be about his age and had shoulder-length hair of a dirty blonde colour. A blue flame was burning on his forehead and his skin was covered in cuts and bruises. The boy’s eyes opened revealing clear blue, and he pushed himself up.

“Thou art…!” he exclaimed upon seeing Tsuna.

Tsuna was a bit taken aback by both the boy’s speech pattern (who used thou these days?) and his recognition of him, as he was sure he had never met the teen before. While Tsuna sat stunned, Hayato and Takeshi rushed over to help them up.

“VOOOOOOIIIIIII!” yelled an even louder and more obnoxious voice than Lambo’s.

The boy with the blue flame immediately tensed up. Tsuna raised his head and caught sight of a tall man in black clothing with long silver hair.

“I’ll slice anyone who gets in the way!” roared the man.

“My apologies, Sawada-dono.” said the boy turning to Tsuna. “I’ve been followed.”

“Eh?!” said Tsuna intelligently, hurriedly forcing himself to put on a blank mask.

It couldn’t be that this boy knew about…No, he admonished himself, it was most likely a mistake. He did look similar to Ienari after all. It was possible that boy whoever he was thought he was Nari. Which meant he had never met Nari, yet knew about him. Also, there was the matter of the dying will flame on his forehead. Could he be from the Vongola? But then why would…

He looked at the silver haired man whose face he remembered from an old file.

…the Varia be after him?                                                                      

“Sawada-dono, we must flee!” said the stranger grabbing his sleeve.

They didn’t have time for this, though, as the silver haired man jumped in front of them.

“So who’s this guy?” asked the swordsman slashing the blonde boy with his weapon. “What’s your relation with him?”

An orange flame burst to life on Tsuna’s forehead as he placed himself between the swordsman and the fallen boy.

“That’s enough, Superbi Squalo.” he said firmly. “There is no reason to continue this fight.”

“What a thing to happen.” said the silver haired man eyeing the gloves that had appeared on Tsuna’s hands. “Could you be the rumoured Japanese?”

The orange eyes narrowed. So that’s what it was. For some reason both the Varia and that blonde boy knew of Ienari, most likely as the Vongola Decimo candidate. But why had they come to Japan?

“What are you planning? I’m going to have you tell me and then kill you!” yelled the swordsman raising his weapon.

Tsuna jumped to the side and retaliated with a kick. His attack was parried and the long haired man’s counter attack sent him flying. He got up quickly and dodged yet another blow. He jumped away from his opponent using the distance to take some time to think. The situation was getting dangerous. Whoever he was, that man was strong. Takeshi and Hayato would be no match against him. Glancing to the side Tsuna caught sight of his two friends looking worriedly at him. He motioned to them to stay put before turning his attention back to his opponent. He was just in time to avoid an attack.

He could avoid all he wanted but it wouldn’t be of any use if he couldn’t land any hits. As he was thinking that, he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He was about to yell at whoever it was to flee but stopped short upon recognizing the blonde man.

“Attacking children now, Superbi Squalo? You should be ashamed.”


	31. Face me without lies

** Namimori Town Center **

Cavallone Dino’s sudden appearance caused a momentary silence.

“Bucking Horse.” muttered the silver haired swordsman visibly displeased by the turn of events.

Tsuna allowed himself to relax a little, though he kept an eye on his opponent. The arrival of Reborn’s ex-student and his men was reassuring but he had learned very early to never let his guard down.

“If you don’t stop this distasteful game of your, I’ll be your opponent.” announced the blond Italian his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Superbi Squalo returned the glare but it was apparent to Tsuna that he wasn’t up for the fight. No matter how skilled the Varia was, they weren’t the type to engage in difficult and otherwise pointless fights. Therefore Tsuna was only half-surprised when the silver haired man lowered his sword.

“If I fight allied families the higher-ups will nag so for today I’ll quietly go home.” said the swordsman.

In one swift movement he grabbed the blonde boy with blue dying will flames and took the box he was holding.

“As if I’d say that!” yelled Squalo loudly, throwing the boy to the ground before taking a few steps back. “For your sake I’ll let the kids go.” he said addressing Dino. “But I’ll be taking these.” he added waving the box with a nasty grin.

Before anyone had time to act, he threw a smoke bomb and bounded away. No one made any move to follow him. Tsuna extinguished his flames and hurried to the young boy’s side.

“Are you alright?” he asked examining the boy’s injuries worriedly.

Dino approached them, picking the boy up.

“For now, we should go.” he said urgently. “I’ve prepared a private hospital we can use.”

 

**_ A while later, _ ** ** Hospital **

Tsuna was sitting in the corridor with Dino. Now that the danger had passed and that they no more reason to be concerned about the injured boy as he had been treated and was currently resting in a nearby room, the blonde Mafioso was showing great interest in Tsuna. An interest which made the brunet very uncomfortable. Of course, it would have been strange for Dino to act otherwise, after all Tsuna had first been introduced to him as a civilian and one who knew nothing about the mafia. It would be impossible for the blonde not to react to the fact that Tsuna had used Dying Will Flames of the sky element and obviously knew who he was facing. Tsuna knew this but it didn’t mean he had to like it.

He had done his best to act naturally, all the while avoiding the topic but it was getting hard to ignore the pointed stares. He could practically hear the questions running through the young boss’ mind.

It was therefore an extreme relief when Reborn and Nari made their appearance.

“ _Papa!_ ” called Tsuna jumping to his feet as soon as he caught sight of the fedora-wearing infant.

“Ciaossu.” answered Reborn jumping from Nari’s head into Tsuna’s arms.

Nari nodded at Tsuna in acknowledgment before doing the same towards Dino but didn’t say a word. Nobody was really paying attention to him anyway as Dino’s jaw had dropped to the floor upon hearing Tsuna exclamation.

“WHAT?!” he finally screamed completely bewildered. “R-reborn explain this to me. I don’t understand. I thought Tsuna…”

His sentence was cut off as Reborn kicked him in the face.

“Shut up, stupid Dino.” he said in his usual emotionless voice, though Tsuna could tell the topic still irked the baby. “I’ll explain later. First, what happened to the Vongola Rings?”

Tsuna blinked in surprise.

“The box Squalo took had the rings in them?” he asked.

“Ah, well, about that…” said Dino with a cheeky smile taking a box out of his coat pocket. “I’ve got the rings here.”

Dino extended his hand towards Nari.

“Here, a certain person asked me to give you this.”

“Those rings are given to the Vongola Boss and his guardians.” explained Reborn in answer to Nari’s questioning gaze. “It’s proof that you’re the next boss.”

There was silence as Nari fixed the box with a dark expression, making no move to take it.

“I don’t want them.” he said at last.

His serious tone showed quite clearly that this was not the usual ‘I don’t want to be a mafia boss’ speech.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take them.” he insisted as no one said a word.

“But why?” asked Dino finally recovering from his shock.

The blonde teen hesitated. His gaze drifted to Tsuna who met his eyes with surprise.

“I want to ask you something.” he said addressing the brunet. “And I’d like you to tell me the truth.”

Feeling slightly uneasy with the turn of events, Tsuna nodded slowly.

“Are you my older brother?” asked Nari his eyes boring holes in the smaller brunet.

Tsuna gulped, eyes darting to Reborn.

“You said you were Reborn’s son and Gokudera and the others call you Caelum, but Tsunayoshi is your actual name, right?” continued Nari, calling Tsuna’s attention back to himself. “Also, I realized after seeing you next to Mom, that you too look really similar. On top of that both you and my supposedly dead brother have a fatal illness. I don’t think there can be such a coincidence.”

“You’re right.” admitted Tsuna. “It’s no coincidence.”

Ienari’s eyes widened visibly.

“It’s true, I’m your older twin brother who is supposed to have died thirteen years ago.”

Tsuna’s announcement was met with harsh intakes of air and strangled cries of surprise.

“Wait, how is this possible? Reborn?” asked Dino, completely bewildered.

The baby lowered his fedora, hiding his eyes from but remained silent.

“Why?” whispered Nari, eyes wide and fearful yet thirsting for truth.

Tsuna sighed.

“As you know I was born sick. I wasn’t meant to survive and even if I did I would be weak. However I was the eldest and when the time came, it would be me who would be first in line to be the tenth boss candidate. Even though your physical condition was clearly more suited for such a position, I would have to be considered first. And even if you were named candidate, disregarding me, I would be a weakness to you. With this in mind, Sawada Iemitsu staged my death and gave me to a Famiglia of scientists. Your mother didn’t know of this. I stayed in those scientists’… **care** for a while until _Papa_ found me. And the rest is history as they say.” he glanced at Nari who had paled.

Maybe telling him hadn’t been the right move. Having said that, the truth would have come out at some point anyway. It was probably best he was told now rather than later, in a less favourable situation.

“Take them.”

“What?” asked Tsuna having not quite caught Nari’s mutter.

“Take them.” repeated the blonde. “The rings. They should be yours.”

Tsuna’s eyes widened. This was not supposed to happen!

“Wait a minute!” he said waving his hands in front of himself. “Even if I am technically the oldest it doesn’t change the fact that I’ll be dead by the end of the year…!”

“Caelum!” growled Reborn warningly.

The brunet sent him a sheepish glance.

“Sorry, _Papa_.” he said apologetically. “But it’s the truth. I can’t be the tenth boss of the Vongola. I just can’t.”

 

** Shamal’s office **

A phone’s ringtone interrupted the man’s work and he lifted his eyes from his data with annoyance. He grabbed his mobile and flipped it open.

“Yes?” he mumbled into it.

“Really?” he said with more enthusiasm a few seconds later. “I see that’s not a bad idea at all.”

“You’ve already got a prototype?” he asked in wonderment after a pause. “You sure work fast.”

“Right. Right. I’ll call him over and tell him about it. The sooner we can test it the better.”

“Yes.” he paused. “I see. Right.”

He scribbled a few notes on a random piece of paper.

“I’ll see what I can do for you.”

“Alright. Bye.”

He placed the phone back on the desk and stretched, a satisfied smile making its way to his lips. Just a little bit more and their research would bear its fruits. There was hope.

 

** Hospital, with Tsuna and co **

“Er…”

All eyes turned to Dino, who had stayed silent during most of the confrontation between brothers.

“Putting the matter of the rings aside for now…I don’t understand everything, but I gather that Sawada Iemitsu isn’t a favourite of yours?” he asked hesitantly.

Tsuna nodded mutely, a sinking feeling into his heart. Reborn had a similar look of dread into his eyes.

“Thing is…” continued Dino weakly. “He left for Japan around the time I did…”

The murderous glare Reborn sent his way made him wish he had stayed silent.


	32. Black and White make Grey

** Namimori, Sawada Household **

Shamal was walking excitedly towards the house of his young patient. Or rather, the house he was currently residing in with his _Papa_ , as well as – although that was a dearly kept secret – the family he was born in. The reason for his apparent good mood and haste to get to his destination was that he and his research partner had finally managed to create a prototype of what they had been trying to create. This was, in his opinion, the best news he had received in months, if not years. What was with Caelum’s health, Reborn’s loss of memory (which he was ashamed to admit had been his doing, despite the fact that he hadn’t been exactly willing), then Caelum disappearing to japan after Reborn, Caelum’s health **again** , Caelum’s kidnapping, Reborn remembering his son at last to discover that Caelum would die in a year…It wasn’t even funny that it always concerned Caelum.

Needless to say, it had been very stressful over these past years. Once this was all over, he was going on a vacation to some remote tropical island with beautiful girls in swimsuits.

Anyway, the point was that the onslaught of bad news had made him lose hope for a while. For the past three years he had seen no ending to the situation and when he had finally caught sight of one, it had been the worst possible: Caelum’s imminent death. But this was all over. A light of hope had been lit at the end of their dark path.

Swimming in thoughts of poetic goodness and miraculous happenings, Shamal burst into the Sawada Household and rushed into the sitting room.

“Reborn! I’ve got great news!” he announced as he entered before noticing the dark atmosphere in the room.

Reborn and Caelum were sitting side by side on one side of the low table, with Nana and Ienari opposite them. Facing Shamal as he entered, were Dino and his subordinate and a boy with dirty blonde hair was sitting with his back to him, craning his neck to look at the doctor with puzzlement. All those present were wearing grim expressions, apart from Nana and the unknown boy who looked like they weren’t sure what was going on.

Reborn who was sitting on a pile of cushion so that he was seated higher than the table, had his fedora tipped forward, a sign that he was extremely serious. The murderous aura wrapped around him like dark snakes was practically visible to the naked eye. Reborn was not happy. Not happy, indeed.

The doctor glanced at the hitman’s son. Caelum was looking darkly at a spot on the table. One would think the table had done something unthinkable to him. He was sitting on his knees, with his hands placed on top of them. His pale fingers were curled into tight fists and Shamal could see that the boy’s jaw was also tense.

“Am I interrupting?” enquired the Doctor, the palpable tenseness starting to affect him as well.

“Shamal, if you’re going to stay sit down next to Basil.” said Reborn.

His tone had been completely emotionless but it contained a heaviness which made it impossible to reply with anything but yes.

Seeing as the only empty seat was next to the boy with dirty blonde hair, Shamal decided he was Basil and sat next to him. A heavy silence fell upon the room for a moment. All eyes were turned towards Tsuna and Reborn but neither of them showed any sign of wanting to speak.

It was Reborn who finally broke the silence, his expression still hidden by his fedora.

“Ten years ago, I received a job from the number one mafia Family in Italy, the Vongola. The job was to wipe out a mafia family of scientists called the Strana Famiglia. They were a pretty minor family affiliated to the Estraneo.”

Those with prior knowledge of the Mafia gave signs of recognition. Nana looked a bit pale and uncommonly serious. It was clear she had not known of the Mafia before this. Shamal suspected she had been ask to listen until the end before questioning them.

“The reason why I was asked to wipe them out was because they had been found guilty of experimenting on humans. More specifically children.” Ienari’s eyes widened in horror as he realized where the story was heading, while his mother looked slightly sick with the idea of experimenting on children.

“I went to their research facility and killed every last one of them.” stated Reborn bluntly, clearly showing that he had no intention of sugar coating the facts. None of them.

“As I was following the last of them to finish the job, he led me to a room. In it was a three year old boy. That was Tsuna.”

The boy made a tiny movement at the mention of his name but didn’t look up. Probably because he knew that at this moment everyone in the room was watching him.

“I found his file in the room containing information about who he was and how he had arrived there. That was how I knew he was called Tsunayoshi. Sawada Tsunayoshi, as a matter of fact.”

Nana gave a strangle cry and hurriedly clasped her hands against her mouth. Her eyes were wide and teary. Tsuna looked up to her with sad, apologetic eyes. Reborn spared the woman a glance before continuing.

“The document said that Sawada Iemitsu the leader of the CEDEF, the external advisors of the Vongola, had given them the child. It did not say what his intentions were by doing that but it did mention that he had staged the child’s death. Apparently, he never involved himself with them after that.”

“He never went to see him?” asked Nana feebly.

“I took Tsuna with me and knowing of his physical condition brought him to Shamal.” went on Reborn without answering the woman’s question. “Shamal managed to find a cure to his condition and I decided to bring Tsuna up from that point on. After a while, I decided to change his name to Caelum for convenience.”

He paused.

“This, lasted until three years ago. At that time, I received the Arcobalenos’ curse and shrunk into a baby. I was devastated. I thought my life as a hitman had come to an end and couldn’t picture myself living in such a body.”

He paused again.

“I asked Shamal to erase my memories and forgot everything…including Caelum.”

A heavy silence fell once again as Reborn clammed up, visibly unwilling to say any more. Realizing that his father would not be speaking again, Tsuna continued the story.

“After _Papa_ left, I stayed with Shamal for a little while before moving out. I lived alone. In Venetia first, then in Rome and in various other Italians towns. I moved a lot so that I wouldn’t be detected. I had started involving myself with the Mafia and didn’t want Famiglias to find too much information about me. One of the first tasks I set for myself was to erase the Estrangeo Famiglia. Though it had never been proved, the Estrangeo were the ringleaders of the human experiments on children that the Strana Famiglia had conducted. I went to their headquarters one night and slaughtered them. Though I didn’t know it then, Rokudo Mukuro, Joshima Ken and Kakimoto Chikusa escaped that night. They would be taken in by another Famiglia, murder them and serve a sentence in Vindicare. I was the one to go there first though. The Vindice arrested me on the same night I killed the Estrangeo. I spent two months in their prison before they let me go.”

“They let you go?” asked Dino incredulously.

Tsuna smiled wryly at him.

“You could say we came to an agreement. They conducted an investigation on the Estrangeo and arrested Mukuro. With his story matching my accusations of the Estrangeo, Bermuda, the Vindice leader, agreed to release me.”

_“Your heart is filled with revenge. You would do well as one of us.”_

Tsuna’s lips distorted into a scowl as Bermuda’s words resounded in his mind.

“Anyway, I was released.” he continued. “After that, I worked as a hitman for various families.”

Dino frowned.

“I’ve never heard of a hitman called Caelum.” he remarked.

“You wouldn’t.” said Tsuna with a humourless smile. “I was known as _Il Misericordioso_ back then.”

“Is that true, Sawada- _dono_?!” exclaimed Basil, speaking for the first time.

His enthusiasm caught Ienari’s attention.

“You’ve heard of him?” asked the youngest twin.

“Of course.” said Basil excitedly. “He is very well-known. They said he was ‘a man who fought with his hands joined as if he was praying’. He only fought for just causes and is said to have never killed anyone unless it was strictly necessary. A lot of people look up to him.”

The blonde looked very impressed and looked appreciatively at his brother, who cleared his throat blushing.

“Ahem, anyway, about two years and a half after _Papa_ left, I met a woman called Aria. She is the boss of a very old Famiglia, the Giglio Nero, and the daughter of the first Sky Arcobaleno, Luce. When I met her, Aria- _san_ gave me the Sky Pacifier and I inherited the Arcobaleno curse as well as the title of Arcobaleno Boss.” he glanced at Nari apologetically. “This one of the reasons why I can’t be the Tenth boss of the Vongola.”

“The rest,” finished Reborn. “you already know.”

There was a pregnant pause during which everybody digested the information.

“My son.” said Nana at last. “You’re my son. My Tsunayoshi.”

Tsuna blushed.

“Yes.” he said hesitating. “But, erm, do you mind if I keep calling you Nana?”

The woman looked surprised but not angry.

“Because…erm…I…already have a Mom and…” muttered Tsuna.

Nana had a moment of surprise. Then she smiled radiantly at her son.

“It’s okay. I’m glad you had a mother to take care of you. Introduce her to me one day, will you?”

Tsuna shone with pure happiness.

“Yes! She’s a really nice person. I’m sure you’ll like her!”

Reborn snarled.

“Nice? That has to be joke. She’s god-awful that woman.”

“She is not!” protested Tsuna vehemently.

“Reborn- _kun_ , shouldn’t she be your girlfriend is she’s Tsuna’s mother?” asked Nana innocently enough.

“No!” snapped the hitman looking mildly horrified – a proof of intense emotion on his part. “I would never, absolutely never, have such a relationship with her. If anything she’s more like an annoying sister I can’t seem to be able to get rid of.”

“She’ll kill you if she hears that.” commented Tsuna calmly.

“I’d like to see her try.” muttered Reborn mutinously, his lips still twisted in angry scowl. “And, anyway, she’s not even here right now.”

“She might be soon!” said Tsuna seemingly finding the idea to be a delightful one. “I hope she does!”

“I certainly don’t. We will already be having one bastard, we don’t need a professional annoyance as well.”

“ _Papa!_ ” said Tsuna warningly glancing at Nana.

The woman’s expression had darkened at the mention of her husband but she quickly regained her composure.

“Let’s not talk about that now!” she said happily. “It’s dinner time and then we have to prepare a bed for Basil- _kun_. And don’t forget that you too have school tomorrow.” she added sternly to the twins.

The two boys groaned in harmony, causing their mother to smile wistfully.

Much later, as he exited the Sawada Household, Shamal realized he had completely forgotten to tell them about his good news. Well, he thought, they’d just have to wait, wouldn’t they?


	33. Fathers, Sons and Brothers

** Namimori Middle School, Gate **

Twin sighs escaped the lips of Nari and Tsuna as the two stood by the school gates. Both boys wore grim expressions, and seemed reluctant to take the step that would take them out of school grounds.

“The time has finally come, uh?” commented the blonde dully.

“Hm…I don’t want to go home…” said the brunet next to him, staring at the concrete under his feet with desperation.

“IS SOMETHING EXTREMELY THE MATTER?” asked, or rather yelled, a boisterous white haired teen arriving behind him.

The recently reunited brothers glanced at him.

“Onii-san…It’s just that my Dad is supposed to come home today…” replied Nari.

Tsuna suddenly looked like the hammer of doom had struck him. Noticing his new bout of depression, the blonde gave him a sympathizing pat on the back.

“It might go well…” he said trying to sound reassuring.

“You mean Papa might only half-kill him?” asked Tsuna gloomily.

The blonde sweat-dropped.

“…Something like that.”

The upperclassmen looked between them registering their dark expressions before clapping them both on the back.

“I EXTREMELY DON’T GET IT, BUT I’M SURE EVERYTHING WILL BE EXTREMELY ALRIGHT.” he exclaimed in his super-loud voice.

“Thanks Onii-san.” said Tsuna, with a pathetic attempt at a cheerful smile. “But I don’t think there’s hope anymore…”

The boy’s gloomy rambling were cut short as a familiar voice called his name.

“Caelum.”

Eyes widening in surprise, the brunet whipped his head around.

“Papa!” he exclaimed joyfully, brightening up in an instant. “You’re back to normal!”

He bounded up to the tall man in a black suit and hugged him briefly. Ienari watched from a distance as a barely visible smile appeared on his Spartan tutor’s face as he looked down at his son. The blonde noticed a yellow cube hanging next to the Arcobaleno’s Pacifier. Was this cube the reason for Reborn’s growing back into an adult? Now that he thought about it, Shamal had said the other day that he had some good news. Was that it?

His eyes lingered on his brother who was positively glowing as he conversed with his ‘Papa’.

“Tsuna looks extremely happy now, doesn’t he?” commented Ryohei, sounding unusually serious.

“Yeah, it’s all thanks to Reborn.”

“His father is certainly the main reason but I think you and your mother have a part to play in it as well.”

The blonde looked up at the older teen with surprise. It was rare for the boxer to show such insight and seriousness, and his talking at a normal level was proof of it. Having said that, Ryohei might be clueless about a lot of things but he could be very perceptive when it came to people.

Nari looked back to the father-son pair. He found that he was somewhat jealous of his older twin. The boy had had an awful life but in the process he had gained a loving father. Reborn might be one of the most violent and cruel people he had ever met, but there was no doubt he had given Tsuna a lot of love. He had made mistakes but in the end he was still the source of Tsuna’s happiness. Nari was a bit envious that the brunet had someone he could love unconditionally.

Even though he had a mother who always took great care of him, her naiveté could be unnerving. His father wasn’t even worth mentioning. It wouldn’t be so bad if he could come to care for his brother as much as the latter cared for his father. He was sure it would give him a nice feeling if he could cause such a bright smile to appear on his sibling’s face.

“Thanks Onii-san.” he said simply, smiling lightly.

The white haired boxer nodded his head with a confident smile and Nari set off to join his brother. It was time to face the less agreeable side of his family.

 

** Sawada Household **

Iemitsu couldn’t say that he had expected the closed-off expression on his wife’s face when he had showed up unannounced in front of the house. Usually Nana would open the door and greet him with a beaming smile before ushering him inside, looking happy and flowery. This time however, she had showed a moment of surprise before her expression had turned somber.

“Come in.” she had said neutrally, stepping aside to let him enter the house.

She had led him to the sitting room and motioned him to sit before leaving to make tea. She had come back a few minutes later with two cups of tea. She placed one in front of him before taking placed opposite him, her own cup in front of her. She had sipped her green tea, looking at him darkly.

The blonde man had felt uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to his wife looking anything but cheerful and the atmosphere was making him feel like an unwanted guest.

“Is something the matter, Nana? You’re not like usual…” he said after a long and tensed silence.

“Iemitsu, we have to talk.” she cut in harshly.

The man gulped.

“Talk? About what?”

“About our son.”

Nari’s image immediately came to the man’s mind.

“Did something happen to Nari?”

He, of course, knew very well what was happening with his son. He was the CEDEF’s leader and was the one who had nominated Nari as heir to the Vongola Family. Nana, however, was supposed to be ignorant of what was happening and more generally of the links he and his son had to the mafia.

“It’s not Nari I want to talk about.” stated the woman firmly.

The blonde man was puzzled. He looked at her completely bewildered.

“Then who…?”

“It’s Tsunayoshi!” she snapped, angry tears appearing at the corner of her eyes. “Surely you haven’t forgotten you first son?!”

A wave of dread washed over the blonde man and he paled noticeably.

“But Nana darling, Tsunayoshi is dead. What could there be to talk ab…”

His wife’s furious glare shut him up. He had never seen his beloved look so intensely angry.

“Dead?” she asked, her hands wrapped around her cup trembling slightly. “Dead?” she repeated her voice rising slightly. “Is that what you think? Or is that what you want me to think?”

“I don’t understand….”

“He’s alive, Iemitsu! Sick and on the verge of dying but he’s alive! And you’re the one who lied about his death!”

The blonde man froze. Alive? Tsunayoshi was? Impossible. It was true he had lied about his son’s death at first, but that had been before the Strana Famiglia had been wiped out and their laboratory burnt to the ground. There was no doubt in his mind that his oldest son had died.

“Nana…There must be a mistake…It’s impossible for Tsuna to be alive.” he said worry lacing his voice.

“Isn’t that just your wishful thinking?” said a voice behind him.

The blonde man whipped around towards the doorway. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the tall dark haired man standing there.

“Reborn?” he whispered. “How did you…?”

He then caught sight of the two boys standing behind the hitman. One was his son, Ienari. The other looked remarkably similar to Nana, from his round brown eyes to his light brown hair. His skin was sickly pale and the leader of the CEDEF could see he was bony.

“Impossible…” he muttered as realization hit him.

“Afraid not, Baka-Iemitsu.” said Reborn, a sadistic glint in his dark eyes. “Let me introduce you to my son, Caelum. Also known as Sawada Tsunayoshi.”

“Impossible.” repeated the external advisor, his gaze fixed on the small brunet. “He should have died...”

“But he didn’t, because I picked him up in that hell the Strana called a research facility.” answered Reborn matter-of-factly, finger fiddling with a gun. “Imagine my surprise when I found out the external advisor of the Vongola had given his own son to the Strana to be a human experiment.”

Iemitsu looked at the hitman blankly. The latter smirked evilly.

“Oh, my. Didn’t you know? The one Nono hired to wipe out the Strana was me.”

Horror and dread were plainly visible on the man’s expression as he suddenly remembered his wife’s presence and turned towards her.

“I can explain everything Nana…” he told her weakly.

“I hope so, because there’s a lot you need to explain.” said the woman coldly. “Your excuses have better be good.”

 

** Shamal’s Office, _meanwhile_ **

The doctor was holding his phone to his ear, waiting.

“Ah, hello Shoichi-kun. It’s Shamal.” he said at last.

“Yes that’s what I was calling about. It worked perfectly.” he said sounding extremely pleased. “The box absorbed the flames and I tried taking some out as a test. There were no problems at all. Reborn grew back as well. I think we can call it a success!”

There was an excited cheer on the other end of the line.

“I’m thinking of trying it on Caelum, next. I think it would be a good thing to relieve him if as much of the curse’s burden as we can, as quickly as possible. His health is seriously suffering from the amount of flames he’s holding as the Sky Arcobaleno. I think the sooner we can take some away, the better it will be for his future.”

He paused, listening to the red haired teen’s opinion.

“I see, excellent. I’ll ask him to come by as soon as possible then. You should come too, they’ll want to thank you.”

There was an embarrassment exclamation, before Shamal spoke again.

“No such thing, you helped us out immensely. I honestly wouldn’t have been able to come up with that system without your help.”

A knock on his door forced him to cut the conversation short.

“Sorry, I’ve got to hang up. I’ll call you back later.”

He hurriedly placed his phone on his desk before walking to the door. He flung it open, immediately fixing his gaze on the visitor. His eyes widened in surprise and he took a step back as he recognized the one standing in front of him.

“You’re….!”


	34. And we begin again

** Namimori Central Hospital **

Shamal hummed to himself as he prepared the necessary equipment. The day had finally come. Today was the day they broke Caelum’s curse and hopefully erased his time limit. Of course Shamal wasn’t so foolish that he believed that the brunet would get better instantly. It would take some time for his body to regain its strength and return to the status quo. But it would be the first stone on their new path. That and he had faith in the boy’s will to live. Lately, Caelum had been increasingly happier. Clearly, Reborn recovering his memories and his former body had played a huge part in it. There was also the influence of Tsuna’s friends and his newly discovered blood relatives, namely Nana and Nari.

The way Shamal saw it, Tsuna never had many friends before. He had had himself of course, but despite everything, Shamal was still a doctor first and foremost. It was difficult to move on from the doctor-patient relationship no matter how well you got on with someone. Ultimately, Shamal was always the one bringing the bad news. That was something he couldn’t change. And wouldn’t change anyway, because he didn’t trust anyone else with Caelum’s health.

He supposed Caelum’s first friend had been Hayato. The two had gotten along well from the start and had known each other for years. But no matter how close they were they couldn’t help each other. All they could do was lick each other’s wounds and make sure that no other was added. They couldn’t heal the wounds of the past. Not for themselves and not for the other. That’s why the arrival of Hibari in Caelum’s life had been so important. At least in Shamal’s opinion. He wasn’t sure what the Prefect’s feelings for Caelum were but if there was one thing he knew it was that he would never let anyone hurt the smaller brunet. Hibari showed endless care towards the younger boy, in his own particular way, admittedly. It was a softness that only existed for Caelum and it always comforted Shamal to know that there was someone who placed Caelum above everything else.

Then of course there had been that baseball player, Yamamoto Takeshi, whom Hayato seemed quite taken with if the amount of time he spent arguing with him was any indication. That Kurokawa girl as well and the Sasagawa siblings. Lambo and I-Pin had played a role as well. And more recently Fuuta and Basil, though the latter appeared closer to Nari than to Tsuna.

Though Tsuna’s greatest support as of yet was most likely Shoichi. The red haired boy had after all managed to devise a way to ‘cure’ him which wasn’t anything to scoff at.

And talking of which…

“Good afternoon, Shamal.” greeted the four eyed teenager as he entered the room.

“Shoichi. Good to see you.” replied Shamal with a smile.

“Are the others not here yet?” asked the boy glancing around the empty room.

“They should be here soon.”

Just as Shamal finished his sentence the door opened once again, letting the two Sawada boys in. The four exchanged greetings and Tsuna thanked Shoichi warmly for his work. Shamal could tell the brunet meant everything he said. His brown eyes were shining and he looked positively radiant. It was good to see him like that after so long.

Hayato and Lambo followed, before Yamamoto and Ryohei accompanied by Fuuta and that Basil kid entered as well. They all took place against the wall while Nari offered his own thanks to Shoichi. Though his version was shorter than his brother’s it was no less heartfelt and brought a smile to Shamal’s lips. Yep, the future was looking good.

“Reborn didn’t come?” asked the doctor in sudden realization, looking with puzzlement at the closed door, as if expecting the hitman to barge in any minute.

He glanced back at Tsuna and blinked in surprise at the sudden dark expression on the boy’s face.

“Um….Well….He uh…”

Nari who looked similarly sombre though held a hint of satisfaction in his eyes cut his brother off.

“Iemitsu came back yesterday so Reborn is taking care of him, now.”

The ‘taking care’ part was definitely not as casual a business as Nari made it sound like. Shamal was sure of that. There were probably guns, knives and maybe even torture instruments involved. He would rather not imagine it.

“Right.” he said trying to forget what he had just learned. “Should we get started then?”

An hour later they were done and Shamal was busying himself putting away the equipment while the others were gathered around Tsuna. Shamal noticed that multiple pair of eyes kept lowering towards the box hanging next to the orange pacifier. From time to time a hand would brush against it as if checking it was real and was holding on well. Worry-warts the lot of them. Not he could blame them because he felt like he only half-believed that this was real and that the worse was now behind them.

Though, now that that particular concern was mostly out of the way he could think of minor concerns such as the previous day’s visitor. The question should he or should he not tell Tsuna about it?

He looked at the happy boy and decided in a matter of seconds that it could wait. Maybe he would tell Reborn though. But he would wait a little. He wouldn’t want to stop his old friend from killing Sawada Iemitsu.

 

** Namimori Middle School, _Roof_ **

Tsuna was happily skipping towards the school. Despite it being Saturday, he knew Kyoya would be at Namimori Middle School. He had left his group of friends a few minutes before as he knew the raven haired prefect wouldn’t appreciate his visiting accompanied by a crowd. Thankfully, Hayato and the others hadn’t opposed his desire to go to the school alone. Not much anyway. And Nari had immediately taken his side and gently but firmly told the others to back off and let him do what he wanted.

The brunet felt that his relationship with his twin brother was getting better every day. This was made a lot a lot easier by the blonde himself, as he seemed to hold Tsuna in high regard. Or at least, he showed him a lot of respect. That and he was always in agreement with Tsuna and supported every decision the shorter boy made. Not to say that Nari followed him blindly or anything, just that they seemed to be on the same wavelength about most things. Tsuna felt that he could easily confide in Nari. The younger twin was despite first impressions, very understanding and quite a good listener. Even when he didn’t have an immediate solution to the problem he was ready to offer his help in order to find one and that, in Tsuna’s books, was more than enough.

All in all, the brunet was enjoying having a brother very much. It was completely different from anything else he had known and he loved it.

He passed the gates and marched towards the building without hesitation. He quickly made his way up to the roof where he expected to find the older boy.

His assumptions proved to be correct as he caught sight of the Prefect as soon as he stepped out in the open air.

“Kyoya!” called Tsunayoshi bouncing up to the raven haired boy.

The boy turned around and placed soft grey eyes on his small frame. The brunet beamed up at him and hugged him tight.

“It worked.” he told the other boy happily, still pressing his cheek against the Prefect’s chest. “Shamal managed to put most of the curse in the box.”

Hibari didn’t answer, but the brunet felt two strong arms wrap themselves around him. The hug was clumsy and a bit awkward but it was more than Tsuna had ever expected. An overjoyed laugh escaped his lips and he squeezed the other boy even harder. The happiness that was overcoming him was so complete that he felt he understood what people meant by ‘drunk on happiness’.

“I’m going to live.” he whispered half-disbelieving.

“Un.” was all Kyoya had to say to this, his arms still around his omnivore.

 

** Town Centre, on top of a building **

A figure clad in a black cloak, a hood of the same colour hiding the upper half of the person’s face was standing above the city, watching people and cars bustling far below. The wind blew by, causing the cloak to open slightly, revealing feminine curves wrapped in a tight miniskirt and bustier. The breeze fell and the cloak with it, hiding once again the woman’s body.

She lifted a hand to push a strand of purple hair behind her ear. Her fingers trailed on the purple tattoo that decorated her cheek before lowering to her chest. She pressed her palm onto the fabric, feeling the familiar lump under it.

It had been a while since she had stood so tall. Though she supposed it was a matter of opinion as she wasn’t that tall. Compared to her previous state however, it made quite the difference. She was thankful for the change. She hadn’t wanted to show herself in such a pitiful state. At least, not to him. It was just a matter of days until she saw him again now. The Varia had started moving, and she with them. She would finish her job, before going to where he was. She would end everything with her current employer so that she could have a clean start. All she could hope was that he stayed safe until she could go to him.

“Mammon. The Boss is calling us back.” called a voice behind her.

A blonde boy with bangs covering his eyes and a wide sadistic grin stepped out of the shadows.

She turned away from the view of the city, brushing passed the Prince towards the door. She never said a word as she disappeared inside the building soon followed by her partner. He hadn’t paid her after all. She couldn’t see why she should make an effort for free.


	35. The future we hope for

** Sawada Household **

The house was eerily calm when Tsuna arrived after spending some time with Hibari. Somehow he had expected to hear terrified screams or sounds of explosions or anything that might indicate an onslaught of violence, as neared the Sawada home. Yet, there was absolutely no indication of anything out of the ordinary happening. Strange. Maybe Reborn had taken the fight elsewhere. Which would be for the best really, seeing as this was a civilian neighbourhood and all. But he had a feeling that wasn’t quite it.

He opened the door cautiously and peeked inside. Seeing no sign of incoming disaster, he entered the house, closing the door behind him.

“I’m back.” he called, straining his ears in an effort to detect any suspicious noises.

“Welcome back Tsu-kun!” called back Nana’s cheerful voice from where he assumed was the kitchen.

He felt somewhat reassured by the woman’s presence, as he believed (or maybe hoped) that Reborn would refrain from displaying too much violence in her presence. After getting rid of his shoes, he walked into the sitting room, his eyes automatically locking on the hitman calmly sipping on an espresso on the sofa.

“Papa.” said Tsuna looking around suspiciously. “Where’s Iemitsu?”

The faint smirk that appeared on the hitman’s lips at the mention of the older man gave the brunet a nasty sense of foreboding.

“He left. He was feeling a bit tired.” responded the man smoothly.

“A bit tired.” repeated Tsuna disbelievingly. “Do I have to understand tired psychologically from having to put up with you or tortured to the point of a physical breakdown?”

Reborn assumed a would-be innocent expression.

“Now, Caelum. Why should you believed I did such things?”

The brunet snorted derisively.

“Why indeed, innocent little lamb you are.” he said, his words dripping with sarcasm.

Reborn smirked at him, as the boy went to flop on the sofa next to him. The brunet leant against the man, letting his head rest on his shoulder.

“Did Nana say anything?” he muttered, low enough that Nana wouldn’t hear him.

Black eyes glanced down at him calculatingly.

“Just gladly pretended nothing was happening.” he answered in a similar manner. “I think she’s planning to meet him later on though.”

Tsuna hummed in acknowledgment. In truth, the only reason why he objected to Reborn intervening in the ‘Iemitsu’ matter was because of Nana. He personally couldn’t care less for the man who had abandoned him at birth in that hell they called a laboratory, but the brown haired woman who had given birth to him had loved the man. What stopped him was that maybe she still did. He knew it was too much to ask of anyone to stop loving someone out of the blue. He also knew that you could love someone while hating what they had done. He himself was in such a case. He loved Reborn dearly, but he hated the fact that the man had chosen to forget about him.

“Do you think she still loves him?” he asked quietly, worry coating his words.

He had come to love Nana. For a long time he had thought abandoning him was a decision both his parents had taken. When it had turned out that Nana had not known the truth, he had allowed her a chance. He could not say she was a bad mother. Even before she knew who he was, she had taken care of him as if he was her own. And from what he had seen she had never forgotten about her supposedly dead son. He could say without shame that he would be heart-broken if he lost her now.

“I don’t think it’s so much a matter of loving him as much as a question of whether or not she’ll forgive him.” said Reborn in that gentle tone he only used when they were alone.

Tsuna crawled onto the man’s knees and buried his face into his chest. Long fingers came to rest on his head and threaded through his hair.

“I like Nana.” he said suddenly, his hands clutching his father’s shirt. “I love you and Maman, and I can honestly say you were the best parents I could have hoped for. I don’t regret not being brought up by Nana with Nari. It’s just…” he cut himself off, not knowing how to finish.

“It’s just that could see her in your life from now on.” completed Reborn in his stead.

“Un. You’re not angry?”

“Should I be?” asked Reborn nonchalantly. “No matter what, she’s your blood related mother, I’m sure that has to count for something. It’s the same for Iemitsu. No matter how much I wish I could I can’t change the fact that you’re his flesh and blood.”

Tsuna smiled. It was so typical of his _Papa_ to stubbornly refuse to call Tsuna Iemitsu’s son.

“Do you think Maman would like her?” asked Tsuna suddenly in a much better mood.

Reborn had the opposite reaction however, his expression immediately darkening at the mention of Caelum’s second parent.

 

**_ In the evening _ , Tsuna’s bedroom **

Later that day, as Tsuna was reviewing his homework in his room a knock came from the door.

“Come in.” called the brunet, pushing his homework away.

“Hi.” said Nari as he stepped in hesitantly. “Can I talk to you for a bit.”

“Of course!” agreed Tsuna instantly, gesturing for him to come and have a seat.

The blonde entered and placed a box on the table which Tsuna recognized as the one containing the Vongola Rings. The brunet frowned but didn’t say anything, waiting for the blonde to explain himself.

“Right. I uh…I wanting to talk about the rings and uh…who should take them. And don’t protest just yet! Listen to me first, please.” the distinct plea in the blonde’s voice told the brunet that his twin was very serious indeed.

He nodded slowly.

“Thanks.” said the blonde before taking a deep breath as if to give himself strength. “I think you should have them.”

Tsuna remained silent, waiting for the explanation before formulating his own thoughts on the matter. Seeing that the brunet was not going to interrupt, the blonde sent him a grateful look before continuing.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do after I found out about you. Before it seemed being the Decimo wasn’t a choice so I just reluctantly went along with it but now…The legitimate heir is you. So I have a choice. I thought about it. I asked myself if I wanted to be a mafia boss.” he paused. “I don’t. This isn’t me being wilful and thinking I can’t do it. I seriously thought about it and I don’t want to lead anyone. I do think I don’t have what it takes but it’s also because…well I just don’t want to lead a mafia famiglia.”

Silence fell on the pair.

“You realize you won’t be able to get away from the mafia, don’t you?” said Tsuna after a while, studying the blonde’s expression.

“Of course. I know that. That’s actually the second part of what I wanted to talk to you about.” he paused again. “I want to train to join the CEDEF.”

Tsuna’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You…You want to join the…the CEDEF?” he repeated shocked.

The blonde squirmed.

“Y-Yeah.” he said sounding hesitant. “You don’t think it’s possible?”

Tsuna shook his head.

“No that’s not it. You can definitely do it. It’s just…I’m a bit surprised…”

Nari looked at his hands.

“You know I’ve been thinking and…We grew apart and we don’t know each other that well but…well…you’re my brother and I think you’re a good guy and good boss. Let’s face it, Gokudera and the gang like you more than they like me and they’re more likely to want to follow you than me. I don’t resent it!” he added quickly as if fearing Tsuna would take it the wrong way. “It’s just…I can’t of understand their feelings. To be honest, I envy them a bit. As your guardians they get to stay by your side and protect you. I want to do that but I don’t want to be your subordinate. I want to be your brother and assist you but I don’t want to be just your brother. That’s why…if I can become the Chief external advisor…”

Tsuna remained silent. To be completely fair he was touched. He hadn’t thought Nari thought so highly of him and he could understand his point of view. It made him happy to think that his twin also wanted to have a proper brotherly relationship. He struggled to find the proper words to express himself all the while trying not to dissolve into happy tears.

Nari, however seemed to misunderstand his lack of response.

“If you don’t want to be the Decimo, I won’t force you. You already have a lot of duties as the Sky Arcobaleno I’m sure, so…”

The brunet promptly cut him off.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be the Boss.” he said firmly. “Truthfully, there are a lot of things I want to do, to change in _La Cosa Nostra_ and being the tenth Vongola Boss would certainly help me. But I don’t want to take anything from you. If you say you aspire to something else, then I’ll gladly accept the inheritance but if you’re relinquishing the title just because I’m technically the eldest then…” he trailed off as Nari shook his head.

The blonde was smiling and looked a lot more relaxed than when he first came in.

“No, I’m not doing it out of duty. This is what I want.” he stated firmly.

The brunet smiled brightly and extended his hand towards his twin.

“In that case, let’s both work hard so that we can work side by side later on.” he said happily.

Nari chuckled and grabbed the other boy’s hand.

“I’m looking forward to it.” he said simply, his eyes shining with a newfound confidence.


	36. Rings and guardians

** Sawada Household **

“Wahaha! Lambo-sama will find you!”

Tsuna sweat-dropped as he heard the loud obnoxious laugh from his hiding place, inside the closet. He had decided to make some time to play with Lambo, I-Pin and Fuuta before he started his special training. The Varia would arrive ten days later and he didn’t expect to have much time to take care of the younger members of his family until the Assassination Squad arrived. It was the same for the others to whom he had given the rings the day before. Ryohei who had received the ring of the sun, Hayato who was the Storm guardian, Takeshi who had accepted the Rain ring and Kyoya who readily accepted the Cloud ring when he had been told it would be dangerous. The only guardian who was not taking this seriously at all was Lambo. Despite being a Thunder guardian, the child was still acting like usual. Not that Tsuna expected him to change, the Bovino boy probably didn’t even understand what was happening.

The only ring which hadn’t been given was the Mist ring. Tsuna knew who he wanted to give it too but he wouldn’t be able to for a while more. He would someday, that he was sure of. But now wasn’t the time. Unfortunately they needed a Mist guardian now, which was why Reborn had taken the ring and left, assuring Tsuna he knew just the person.

Tsuna sighed. He would have preferred not to have to rush things like this.

A sudden stream of light made him jump. The door of his cupboard was open and he thought for a moment that Lambo had found him, except it wasn’t the cow child standing in front of the cupboard, but Ienari.

“I just wanted to tell you that Mom decided to divorce my dad.” said the blonde casually as if his elder brother was not hiding in a cupboard.

“Oh.” was the only answer Tsuna managed to muster. “Erm…How are you taking it?”

The blonde shrugged.

“I don’t really care. It might even be better that way.” he looked away. “I’m not sure how I feel about dad these days. I can’t forgive him for what he did.”

“He’s still your father, though.” said Tsuna gently.

He didn’t want to force Ienari to hate his father just because of what he had done.

The blonde turned his gaze towards him.

“He was yours once too.” he said. “That didn’t stop him.”

Tsuna was lost for words. He stood gaping at his brother, trying to think of something to say to that. The twins stood in silence for a moment, before Ienari gave him a small smile and shut the cupboard’s door.

Tsuna let his head fall against the door with a dull thud. This proved to be a fatal mistake for a moment later, the door was wide open and Lambo was laughing his loudest most obnoxious laugh right in front of the teenager.

“Ahaha! Found you Dame-Tsuna!” yelled the cow-child jumping in glee.

Tsuna forced himself to smile.

“Yeah you got me.” he said before letting himself be dragged by the child to find the others.

 

  **Tsunayoshi’s bedroom**

It was much later that the brunet was finally able to return to his bedroom, physically and emotionally tired. Who knew playing with the kids could be such an intense and traumatising experience? He certainly hadn’t. If he had he might not have suggested it…Having said, he was glad he had, if only to see the sheer joy on the kids’ faces when he had announced he’d spend a good part of the day with them. Thinking back on it, he couldn’t find it in himself to think it was a bad idea.

Especially since he might not have much time to spare in the next few weeks. Or anytime in the foreseeable future, in fact. Accepting the title of Tenth had many consequences, like the fact that he would be inheriting Reborn’s crazy training. That he could deal with. He had gone through the man’s version of training since he was a child. So that was okay. What wasn’t as nice was the fact that he would have to compete for the title with Xanxus. Xanxus was Nono’s son and the Boss of the Varia. Tsuna knew from experience that the assassination group was neither tender nor merciful. They would be tough enemies. Not that adversity scared him. Rather than that, he had never felt as strong as he felt at present. Not only did he have his _papa_ watching his back, he also had the best friends anyone could wish for.

And that was another reason why he was reluctant to fight the Varia. He had no doubt that Hayato, Takeshi and Onii-san would insist on helping him. Which he was grateful for. But it also worried him. As Reborn would say he felt way too responsible for other people. He couldn’t bear the thought that his friends could get hurt.

Unfortunately, going alone was not an option. The three above-mentioned boys excluded, there would always be the wild card named Hibari Kyoya. Tsuna had difficulties imagining Kyoya letting him walk into danger alone. Not when he would be getting into a fight in Kyoya’s beloved Namimori. Nope, the skylark would be there. Definitely.

The brunet rubbed his eyes with a deep sigh, before letting himself fall onto his bed.

He supposed there was no way around it. They were after all his guardians. They had chosen to accept the rings knowing what burdens they would have to carry if they did. The thought didn’t reassure him much.

A knock interrupted his reflexions and he sat up on his bed.

“Come in.” he called, his gaze fixed curiously on the door.

The door opened, letting Bianchi enter the room.

“Hey.” said Tsuna softly.

The woman smiled and went to sit on the bed next to him.

“Hey.” she repeated.

They sat in companionable silence for a minute.

“I heard from Reborn that you’re leaving tomorrow.” she said, breaking the silence.

“Yeah. I’m going to start a special training. _Papa_ and I decided it would be best.” said the brunet looking at his feet and fiddling with the Pacifier hanging from his neck. “I asked Basil to help me out and _Papa_ is getting the others some home tutors too.”

The pink haired woman watched his pale fingers toying with the Pacifier, the Vongola Ring adorning his finger.

“You’ll be carrying a lot of burdens.” she said after a moment and Tsuna knew she wasn’t talking about the training.

He lifted a pair of brown eyes to meet hers. He looked deep in thoughts for a minute, before a teasing grin spread on his lips.

“Aw, are you worried?” he asked mockingly. “That’s so sweet of you.”

The woman huffed, indignation written on her face.

“Worried? Of course I’m not worried. Don’t be ridiculous.” she said with a dismissive wave. “I’m looking forward to the day when you’ll disappear. Reborn will finally be free of you and I’ll become his number one.”

The brunet snorted.

“Keep telling yourself that.” he told her, more than a little amused.

The playfulness left Bianchi’s expression and she became serious once more.

“Seriously though Caelum. Are you sure about this?”

“I am.” he told her with a confident smile. “I can carry two part of the Trinisette. It doesn’t scare me. I mean both Luce and Aria did it before. So why not me?”

“I know that the Mare rings have been in the Giglio Nero Famiglia for generation but still, their family isn’t as strong as the Vongola.” said Bianchi frowning.

“That’s true.” admitted the boy. “But it’ll be alright. I’ve got my guardians and my friends with me. I’ve got _Papa_ and…I…I’m sure _Maman_ will also…”

His voice cracked a little. The woman’s eyes softened. Caelum was always putting on a cheerful façade and laced his words with confidence but she knew that in reality he was suffering from his mother’s absence. Most people forgot because not many knew of her and even less people knew who she was, but Caelum had been abandoned by both his _Papa_ and his _Maman_. As far as she knew, Reborn had been the only to forget everything, something he would never forgive himself for doing. But the fact remained that during the years following the Arcobaleno curse, Caelum’s mother had never showed up.

Bianchi didn’t know much about the mysterious woman. She knew that she didn’t actually live with reborn and Caelum and that she wasn’t Reborn’s lover. She knew Reborn cared about her but disliked her more. She knew that she would only show up once in a while, supposedly when she felt like it.

Still, even she realized it was weird for her to just disappear for years without so much as a message.

She looked at the brunet with sympathy and placed her arm around him.

“I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

The boy nodded and smiled gratefully but Bianchi knew she hadn’t erased his doubts. Only his _Maman_ could do that and Bianchi sincerely hoped she would.

 

** Namimori, _the next day_ **

The next morning, Tsuna found himself saying his goodbyes to his guardians. Well, three of them anyway. Onii-san, Hayato and Takeshi had come to his house that morning to see him off.

“So you two know who you’ll be training with?” he asked Hayato and Takeshi.

They nodded though neither expanded on the identity of their home tutors.

“What about you onii-san.”

“I EXTREMELY DON’T KNOW!” yelled the white haired boxer.

Tsuna chuckled softly.

“I’ll be the one training him, hey!” said a voice behind them.

The group turned around to see two men walking towards them. One was Reborn, clad in his dark suit and yellow dress shirt. The other was blonde and wore a military uniform. A camouflage-patterned bandana stopped his blonde locks from falling over his bright blue eyes.

Comprehension dawned on Tsuna when he spotted the blue Pacifier hanging around the man’s neck, a blue box next to it. The boy beamed.

“It’s great to meet you.” he said extending his hand. “I’m Caelum.”

He winced as he noticed he had slipped back into the habit of introducing himself as Caelum.

“Or Tsuna. whichever you prefer.”

“I’m Colonello.” said the guy with a grin of his own.

They shook hands and Tsuna got the instant impression that he was going to get along with the man.

“I still can’t believe you’re Reborn’s son, hey.” said Colonello, seemingly continuing on a subject he had been discussing with Reborn. “You must be pretty resilient to have lived with him, hey.” he added looking awed.

The brunet laughed. Yeah, he was going to like this guy.


	37. Inherited Will

** Namimori Mountain **

Tsuna crashed in the rocky mountain-side. He had been training for a few days now but he felt like he hadn’t gotten better at all. He had asked Basil to help with his training by fighting against him. They both used the Dying Will Flames so he was the perfect opponent. Reborn was supervising but ultimately there wasn’t much he could do other than watch. The technique Tsuna was trying to learn had been invented by Primo and as far as he was aware the founder of the Vongola had been the only one to know how to execute it. Which meant he was forced to improvise.

He scrambled to his feet, groaning as pain shot in his injured back.

“Caelum-dono!”

Basil ran towards him, offering his shoulder for Tsuna to lean on.

“Thanks.” said the brunet with a grateful smile.

Reborn left his spot on the side-lines and approached the two teenagers.

“I think we should take a break.” said the man. “It’ll be no use if you break your body.”

The brunet agreed wordlessly. He would have preferred to keep going, but he knew it would do him no good to push his body when he was feeling frustrated by repeated failure.

“If you haven’t done any progress by tomorrow, we’re changing the training.” announced Reborn as they walked down towards their camp.

The brunet looked up at his father, eyes widened in disbelief.

“What?!” he squawked indignantly.

The dark haired man looked at him sternly.

“We’ve only got one week, Caelum. It took Primo a month to master that technique. If you don’t make progress by tomorrow you won’t have time to properly master it in the time left anyway, so we might as well do some more useful training. If you’re not properly prepared you won’t be the only one suffering from it.”

Tsuna’s expression darkened. He nodded mutely. Of course, he knew that his weakness could endanger his guardians, but he didn’t want to give up on that technique either. Against Xanxus who used the flame of wrath it would be his best weapon.

But anyhow, talking of his guardians…

“So who’s everyone training with then?” he asked, pushing aside the matter of his own training. “I know Onii-san is training with Colonello but you never told me who the other home tutors would be.”

Reborn smirked.

“Well, Dino is one.” he said mysteriously.

His father’s amusement did not sit well with Tsuna. He might have an unconditional love for the man even he realized Reborn’s idea of fun wasn’t necessarily right. The hitman had a rather sadistic humour. The smirk he had on now just screamed suspicious.

“Dino-san? Who is he training?” enquired Tsuna, narrowing his eyes at his father.

“Hibari Kyoya. I thought they’d be a good match.” the smirk was full-blown now.

Tsuna’s jaw went slack and he gaped at his father.

“You sent _Dino_ to train _Kyoya_?!” he practically shrieked. “Kyoya’s going to murder him.” he added faintly, his face paling.

“I asked Lal if she could take over your brother’s training. She’ll probably end up being his tutor anyway, since he wants to join the CEDEF.”

Basil let out a gasp.

“Sawada-dono will join the CEDEF?” he asked.

Tsuna sent him an apologetic look.

“Oh right, you didn’t know. Nari wants to join the CEDEF. He’s aiming for chief advisor so you’ll be rivals I guess.”

Rather than look put out Basil looked delighted by the prospect of working with Nari. This made Tsuna smile. At least he knew his brother wouldn’t be completely alone. Basil would help him no doubt. And Lal Mirch would be there too. Though the woman was a bit rough, she wasn’t a bad person.

“What about Takeshi and Hayato?” asked the brunet turning back to his father.

“They’ll find their own tutors.” said Reborn dismissively. “Gokudera will probably ask Shamal. As for Yamamoto…” he paused glancing back at his son. “He’s got all he needs at home.”

Though he was confused, Tsuna didn’t press the matter. He figured he could always ask Takeshi later anyway. Reassured that his guardians were in good hands, the brunet focused on his training once more.

Though he understood the theory behind the technique, he had trouble putting it into practice. He wasn’t about to give up though. His eyes flashed with determination. He would master it. Because it was the best solution. And because he had to prove to himself and to others that he was worthy of being the Tenth Vongola Boss.

 

**_ Later that night _ **

Reborn sensed the presence as it neared the camp. He glanced at the sleeping form of his son, huddled with Basil for warmth. The two boys had exhausted themselves at training that day and were now deep in sleep. He only hesitated for a second before he got to his feet. With a last glance at his son, he left the clearing, stepping into the darkness of the woods.

He relied on his instincts to find the intruder. Whoever it was had stopped moving a while ago, as if they were waiting for him. They probably were. Which meant they weren’t just any random person. They knew he would feel their presence and they expected him to come. Either they were betting on getting lucky or they knew him well enough to be able to predict his actions.

He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the tall figure leaning casually against a tree. He tipped his fedora forward, hiding his dark gaze from view. Slowly, the shadow turned to look at him. It was a man, though Reborn only knew that because he had already met him. He had always found the man’s features strangely childish and androgynous. Of course, the heavy makeup didn’t help.

The man had always had a thing for purple, as proved by his dyed spiky hair which always looked ruffled – rather as if the man had just left his bed. The eye shadow and lipstick which was habitual for him was also purple, as was the drawn tear under his left eye. Twin white plasters adorned each of his cheeks, the moonlight he was standing in making them seem almost blinding.

Reborn’s gaze travelled over the man’s body almost automatically. As per usual, the Cloud Arcobaleno was wearing a black and purple biker suit which clung to his lean frame. No sign of injury. But then he had always been good at hiding them. People thought his make-up was just there to look cool, few knew that they were all part of a clever plot to hide any trace of bruising or cuts.

The man smiled, causing the lip-chain linked to his left ear to sway slightly.

“Hey.” he greeted cheerfully.

“Chaos Skull.” said Reborn, showing no emotion whatsoever. “I see you paid Shamal a visit.”

His eyes lingered on the purple pacifier and box of matching colour hanging around the other man’s neck.

“Yep. First thing I did when I arrived.”

The two stared at each other challengingly. They had not started on the best of terms when they had been introduced to each other as fellow Arcobalenos. Reborn had already been a grown man back then, a father even, while Skull was still a child. Seventeen at the time they first met, Skull had been the youngest of them all and, they had thought, the weakest. He had been actively picked on by the group (with the exception of Luce who regarded such things with disapproval) and especially by Reborn. The hitman who had been called the best regarded the younger man as a burden and a naïve child who didn’t have is place amongst them.

He’d changed his views when he had seen the boy being shot in his stead. The bullet had pierced the heart and Reborn had thought he had just caused the death of his comrade. But the Cloud Arcobaleno had gotten up, stumbling slightly and smiled, as blood trickled down his mouth.

It was that day Reborn learned of Skull’s ‘ _immortality’_. He only learned the story behind it much later. It was one of those things he wished he had never learnt. If anything Skull’s life story had only served to reaffirm his resentment for the cruelty of humankind.

“I’d have thought the first thing you did would be to visit.” noted Reborn dully.

The man shrugged half-apologetically.

“Yeah, well.” he said. “I didn’t really want Caelum to see me as I was. Can’t really be the fun big brother if I’m the size of a baby, can I?”

He chuckled humourlessly.

“I assume it’s the same reason for Viper?” inquired Reborn.

Skull’s face fell and Reborn was quick to understand something was not quite right.

“Ah…I…Don’t know.” said Skull feebly.

Though he was smiling, his eyes expressed his pain. This was Skull alright. His smile was practically an inherent part of who he was. It didn’t mean he was particularly happy or even in a good mood, it was just part of his image, just like his make-up.

“You don’t?”

The younger man squirmed.

“No…See…I…haven’t really seen Vi in a while…” muttered the biker uncomfortably.

Silence stretched.

“How long is a while exactly?” asked Reborn at last.

“Few years.” mumbled Skull averting his eyes.

“How long?” repeated Reborn, with a hint of a threat in his tone.

“Since the curse.”

A heavy silence fell on the pair. Reborn hadn’t thought about it but he hadn’t been the only one to suffer from the consequences of the curse. Though most people were aware that Lal Mirch and Colonello were more or less a couple – though Lal still firmly denied it – only a select few were aware that Skull and Viper had been in a relationship. In the first place, Reborn could count on one hand the people who knew that Viper was a woman. There were even less than that who knew she had been Skull’s girlfriend.

“I had been planning on proposing to her, you know.” said Skull after a while. “But then _that_ happened. I thought it was so unfair. Just when I was finally happy, it had to be taken from me.”

Reborn stayed silent. He had never thought of marrying anyone so he really couldn’t say he understood the man’s feelings. He did know however, that Skull had had a tough life. A life of abuse and torture which had made him immortal for the most part. It hadn’t made him immune to emotional harm though. In fact, it had made him more vulnerable in that respect.

“Vi went missing then. And so did you and Caelum. You were all gone.”

Reborn approached the tree Skull was still leaning against and placed his back against the trunk.

“I did something I’ll regret until I die at that time.” he admitted. “I’m just grateful I was given a second chance.”

They fell into silence once more.

“Once things have settled down, it’d be nice to do a family reunion, with the four of us, just like good old times.” said Skull after a moment.

Reborn peered at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Must I understand that you won’t see Caelum until then?”

Skull smiled and took a few steps away from the tree.

“Nah. I want to talk to Vi first. Clear things up with her, patch things up. It’ll be nicer for Cael if we’re not all awkward around each other.”

“Don’t take your sweet time lackey.” was all Reborn said in reply.

The purple-haired man laughed at the old insult as he was walked away.

“I’ll see you soon Reborn.” he called over his shoulder before disappearing into the night.


	38. The Boss I have chosen

** Yamamoto Household, dojo **

Yamamoto Takeshi was kneeling in the middle of the dojo. His eyes were closed and his breathing was regular and controlled. Meditation was equally important as sword work to his training. In order to execute the techniques of the Shigure Souen Ryu his father had shown him, he needed to be calm and to have his emotions under control. His father had taught him that to be a good swordsman wasn’t only to beat your opponent, it was to be able to perform a technique perfectly.

Though he usually wasn’t one to get serious about anything that didn’t involve baseball, the art of the sword was something he had been devoting himself to completely since he had first asked his father to teach him at the beginning of the week.

For a long time, he had thought his path in life would be baseball. He loved the sport more than anything and his abysmal grades didn’t leave him much room for further studies. It had been fine by him. There was nothing else he wanted to do anyway. Doing something he enjoyed for the rest of his life didn’t seem so bad. But then, he had met Tsuna.

The brunet had first appeared to be just a clumsy kid, with not much going for himself, but he had turned out to be one of the bravest and strongest people Takeshi had ever met. He was also exceptionally kind for someone with such a troubled past. All of this had triggered a feeling of immense respect for the brunet but also an ardent desire to do anything in his power to protect him. The title of Rain Guardian he had recently accepted was something he would never give up. And it was for the purpose of being a Guardian worthy of the Boss he was meant to protect that he had started learning the Shigure Souen Ryu.

He had spoken with Ienari a few days before. The blonde had sought his council concerning the inheritance. It had become clear when the truth about Tsuna’s identity had been revealed that Hayato was essentially Tsuna’s friend. The bomber had also confessed to having decided to become Nari’s ‘subordinate’ because of a favour Tsuna had asked of him. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t get along with the youngest twin, but simply that Tsuna would always come first. It was probably why Nari had chosen to discuss that matter with him, Takeshi, who was equally friendly with both twins.

Takeshi was positive he hadn’t influenced the blonde’s decision in any way. He had only listened after all. He couldn’t deny he was extremely pleased with it though. In all honesty, though Nari was a dear friend of his, he didn’t inspire quite as much loyalty as his twin. Tsuna seemed a better Boss and even Nari appeared to think so. He was glad that the blonde had decided to join the CEDEF so as to be able to work with them in the future. Even though Takeshi couldn’t see Nari as his Boss, it didn’t mean he was ready to leave him behind either.

The teenager got up to his feet and picked up his wooden sword. Having both twins to protect only made him more eager to learn.

 

** Namimori, Shamal and Hayato **

“WHY ISN’T IT WORKING?!” screamed the silver haired bomber after yet another failed attempt at hitting the paper planes with his dynamite.

Shamal who was lying down in the grass not far away, smiled lightly, looking as bored as he always did when there were no women around.

“Failed again. You’re not very good at this Hayato. Maybe you should give up.” he commented dully, scratching his chin absent-mindedly.

“Shut up!” growled the teenager, glaring at the doctor. “I’m not giving up. The reason I can’t do it yet is because your teaching is crappy. Can’t you at least give me a hint?”

“A hint?” echoed the man thoughtfully. “Hmm…That’s right…Let’s see…It’s like flirting.”

“Ha?! What’s that supposed to mean?” asked the silver-haired teen clearly annoyed.

“You have to treat the paper planes like girls you are trying to flirt with.”

There was a pause during which Hayato looked like he was trying to understand his mentor’s explanation.

“I don’t get it.” he said at last.

The doctor got to his feet and strectched.

“Hm…Maybe you’re too young for this after all.” he said as he started to walk away. “Maybe you should give up.”

“LIKE HELL I WILL!” yelled the bomber after him, turning away and continuing with his training under the pessimistic eye of his teacher.

“He doesn’t get it at all, does he?” muttered the man to himself as he watched his student being blown up by his own weapon.

 

** Namimori Mountain, Colonello and Ryohei **

The white haired boxer and his home-tutor were lying on a rocky platform, limbs spread upon the hard surface and eyes looking up at the clear sky above. They had been doing this for a while now, and the boxer who had expected extreme training was slightly disappointed. He respected his teacher’s opinion though as he had immediately understood that the blonde man in military gear was someone to be reckoned with. Still, he was curious as to what was the point of this so-called training…

“Master, why are we extremely doing nothing?” he asked.

“I’m training you to rest your body.” answered the man calmly not altering his position. “Since you’re always running around and training your body doesn’t get a chance to rest properly. Because of that, your body is never in top-shape which means you can’t fight to your full potential. Right now, I’m giving your body cells a chance to rest so that you’ll be able to use all of your body’s power later on.”

Ryohei nodded gravely. He extremely didn’t understand, but it sounded extremely awesome.

“YOSH! I’LL EXTREMELY REST!” he yelled suddenly all fired up.

Colonello chuckled.

“Just calm down.” he instructed sounding amused if a little fed up.

 

** Kokuyo Land, unknown person **

The girl was sitting against the concrete wall of the ruined building. She had been living here for a few weeks now along with the two boys who were conversing a few feet away. She liked them well enough, but the feeling didn’t seem reciprocated. Not by Ken anyway. She didn’t understand what Chikusa felt about her. She never really understood him. His poker face and seemingly soulless eyes made it impossible to tell what he was thinking. The only one capable of such a feat was Ken who had known him for a long time.

The reason why she had joined the two of them at Kokuyo Land, was her saviour, Rokudo Mukuro. The boy with mismatched eyes had rescued her when she had been abandoned by her parents. He had given her the possibility to live without asking anything in return. Though she had never met him in person, she had often seen him in her dreams. It might sound strange but she knew this had been made possible thanks to Mukuro-sama’s powers.

Ever since the day he had first appeared in front of her and given her a new life, she had seen him as a godly figure. He was her benefactor and she was prepared to do anything for him. As far as she could tell, Mukuro-sama was also rather fond of her, though to this day she still didn’t know what had spurred his desire to help her. Mukuro-sama, though he was her saviour, was not the type of person who just helped people. This was probably because he had never been helped himself and so couldn’t see any reason to help others.

Well, he had been helped once. Mukuro-sama had shared the memory with her and the figure of the man who had changed her saviour’s life was now engraved in her mind. They called him _Il Misericordioso_ , Caelum or even Sawada Tsunayoshi. He was a man who was said to never lose his cool and always spare his enemy unless it was absolutely necessary to kill them. He was said to be the Saint of the underworld, the angel of La Cosa Nostra.

He had seemed like one when he had appeared in Mukuro-sama’s vision, has he had been imprisoned in one of the cells of the Estrangeo facility. An angel surrounded by bright orange flames, with eyes burning in that same colour. The memory which didn’t belong to her always made her feel warm and safe. She wondered if those were the feelings Mukuro-sama had had when he had lived it.

It was clear that it had an effect on the older boy. It wasn’t every day he asked her to help a member of the Mafia in his stead. Mukuro-sama hated the Mafia. Sawada Tsunayoshi was apparently an exception.

Her lone eye drifted down to her finger adorned with a ring. It had surprised her when Mukuro-sama had asked her to bear this ring until he could do so himself. To think her saviour would willingly become the Mist Guardian of Tenth Boss of the Vongola! This man, Sawada Tsunayoshi, must really be someone special to influence Mukuro-sama in such a way.

It made her want to meet him all the more.


	39. Decimo

** Namimori, _hill_ **

Training was over. Which only meant one thing in Tsuna’s mind: the fight for the inheritance was about to begin. He and his guardians had gathered on the hill that looked upon Namimori. It was Tsuna who had decided on the location as he had a feeling there would be hell to pay if their fight damaged the town. At least here there wasn’t much they could destroy. Except perhaps the hill itself but he was trying to think positively.

It wouldn’t be long now. He could feel it in the air. The sudden tension that seemed to envelop the entire hill. He never had any doubt that Xanxus would find them. It _was_ after all the Varia. A force to be reckoned with and one Tsuna would normally not go against. But his life hadn’t been normal for a long while, if ever.

A movement on his right caught his eye. Nari was moving from the back of the group to stand next to him.

“You okay?” he murmured standing next to his twin.

“Fine.” answered Tsuna before looking up at the night sky. “I’ll be better once it’s done though.”

Nari smiled. He was about to add something but Takeshi chose this moment to add his own input.

“It’ll be fine Tsuna, since you’ve already got it all figured out.”

That was true. Tsuna had carefully planned the encounter with the Varia. He had no wish to start a full out war with them. Not only did he not think they would win that way, he also didn’t think it would be positive for the future. If by some chance they won, the Varia was unlikely to want to help them in the future. For those reasons he had decided to ask for a one-on-one battle with Xanxus. Boss against Boss. And old way of settling a fight between Mafia Famiglias.

Reborn who had been silent until then, tipped his fedora forward.

“They’re coming.” he said shortly.

And it was all the warning they had before they found themselves facing the group of trained assassins that was the Varia. Tsuna’s gaze quickly travelled over the group, until his eyes fell upon a very familiar cloaked figure. His heart missed a beat and his throat went dry.

“Maman?” he murmured so faintly that only Nari who still standing next to him and Reborn who was on his other side, heard him.

His twin gave him a surprised look, but Tsuna was too shocked to pay it any attention. He could feel himself growing pale and gulped hurriedly in an attempt to regain his calm. He couldn’t see the woman’s expression from where he stood, her face being mostly hidden by her hood. He closed his eyes briefly willing himself to set the matter aside and concentrate on the task at hand.

“Xanxus.” he greeted, sounding calmer than he felt. “I request a battle of Bosses to settle the inheritance fight.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the cloak figure jerk, before quickly regaining her composure. Tsuna tried his best to ignore it. It was hard to keep looking at the scarred man when all he wanted to do was to look at the mother he hadn’t seen in years, but he somehow managed it. It helped that Xanxus was pinning him down with his glare.

“Trash.” grunted the dark haired man, narrowing his glare dangerously. “You’ve got guts.”

Tsuna didn’t reply. He hadn’t had an answer yet and was hoping this was only the beginning of what Xanxus had to say. He had heard that the Varia’s Boss wasn’t exactly a great conversationalist and it seemed to be true. Than man certainly didn’t say much. Not that he needed to really, his aura was intense enough that most people would be left shaking in their boots just from being stared at.

The tense silence continued for a few minutes more. Then, Xanxus gestured to his men to fall back, Tsuna immediately doing the same with his own family. Once the two of them were left in the middle of a wide empty circle, Xanxus spoke again.

“I won’t go easy on you Trash.”

“I never thought you would.” replied Tsuna holding his head high.

He couldn’t afford to show any weakness. In a way, the battle had already started. They stared at each other challengingly for a while longer. Then without further warning, they started moving, flames of different colours erupting around them, starting a deadly dance.

 

**_ With Reborn _ **

The fight had started just a few seconds ago and it was already intense. The two figures moved so quickly that they were only made visible by the flames they used. They had left the ground nearly as soon as they started and were now fighting it out in the wider space offered by the sky.

Intuition made Reborn look away from where his son was risking his life, his hand automatically reaching for his gun.

“What do you want?” he asked testily as his dark gaze landed on a figure wrapped in a dark cloak. “Viper.”

“It’s Mammon.” replied the woman instantly.

Reborn’s eyes narrowed threateningly. He had no time for such idiocies and had half a mind to just shoot the damn woman.

“What do you want?” he repeated his tone suggesting a very violent death indeed if the next thing she said didn’t answer his question.

By now they had attracted the attention of most of Tsuna’s family, the teenagers looking at them with a mix of curiosity and nervousness. Nari even retreated a few steps back as if afraid it would get violent. Good kid.

“Are you really going to let this happen?” asked the woman.

Her tone was soft and he detected the hint of worry in it. If the emotionless demon she was could hint at worry, she must on the verge of having a panic attack.

“Why not?”

She made a gesture which spoke of her restlessness.

“He can’t win against Xanxus.” she said.

“And of course you’d know that very well, seeing as you’ve met with him regularly.” said Reborn coolly.

Even she couldn’t hide the flinch those words provoked.

“You’re in no place to be saying this to me.” she snapped, before taking a deep silent breath to calm herself. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea to let him do this.”

Reborn glanced up at the fight overhead, just as the two balls of fire collided violently.

“That’s not for you to decide.” he said simply.

He didn’t look at her again, but he knew when she disappeared after a moment and he could feel the gazes of the children around him. He ignored them. They would know soon enough. But now was not the time.

 

**_ With Tsuna _ **

Tsuna knew in the instant the fight started that he was no match for Xanxus’ strength. Though he could somewhat compete in terms of speed, his strength was inferior to the man’s. Which wasn’t as surprising as it could have been, considering Xanxus’ flames had quite a reputation. Flames of wrath they called them. Not something one could go against unprepared.

Fortunately, Tsuna _was_ prepared and he managed to hold his own for a while. Though the both of them relied on techniques in the first few minutes of the fight, it soon became clear they were both beyond the level where such things were effective and it soon turned into a fistfight powered by flames. When two opponents were too strong, it was often the case. After a certain level, relying on techniques only served to destroy everything around them without any effectiveness whatsoever on the opponent. It was why they went back to using fists and kicks. It might appear unrefined to those who had never found themselves in such a situation, but it was actually the ultimate form of one-on-one combat. One where only your raw strength mattered, but it was the only thing that was effective.

Unfortunately, Tsuna was losing in terms of raw strength. He had landed a few good hits but he was taking more than his opponent, which meant that if they kept going, he would lose. In other words, he was going to have to break the flow.

Easier said than done though, he thought, as he flew to meet Xanxus, expertly dodging a blow while giving one of his own. It didn’t land, and they were soon flying back, moving in an arc before colliding again. This time, Tsuna didn’t dodge, he used took the blow full-on and used the momentum to fly a good way backwards.

He was positioned as he wanted to be. All that was left to do was try and use his new technique and hope it worked. He closed his eyes, willing himself to concentrate. The flame on his forehead started flickering, as he brought his hands in front of him, joining his fingertips so as to create a circle.

He was vaguely aware of Xanxus snarling and saying something. No doubt he recognized it. Bringing his guns in front of him, the dark haired man launched a powerful attack.

Unmoving, Tsuna observed the condensed flame shot that was coming towards him as if in slow motion. If his technique didn’t work, he was dead, thought Tsuna calmly as he observed the attack. The flames were close enough to touch now and Tsuna reached to do exactly that. As soon as his hand came into contact with the Flames of Wrath, they turned to ice. The attack had been stopped successfully but Tsuna didn’t let go. He spurred the ice on, feeding it so that it continued freezing the flames until it reached a panicked Xanxus, spreading to his arms and to the rest of his body.

When Tsuna retrieved his hands, the man was frozen completely and dropping to the ground. The icicle crashed on the hill, but took no damage from it. It was special ice that couldn’t be broken after all.

Spent, Tsuna hovered down and hit the ground with immense relief. It was short-lived however as one of the Varia, a blonde young man with a crown on his head, starting cackling madly.

“Too bad we already know how to counteract that technique!” he said, stepping forwards with the rest of the Varia.

All except one. Tsuna and the others quickly realized that there was one not moving. The prince turned around, realizing this too.

“Mammon! What are you doing?!”

Still, the cloaked figure didn’t move. Tsuna felt a wave of warmth wash through him. Maman was helping him.

“I won’t help you release him.” said the woman at last.

She pinned the fuming prince with a glare hidden under her hood.

“The laws state clearly that during a Boss battle, outside help results in an immediate loss. Even if you release him now, Xanxus has already lost the battle.”

As she spoke she walked to the icile and carefully picked up the Half-Vongola ring that Xanxus had dropped and brought it to Tsuna. She placed in his hand gently before joining her comrades.

“We will take him back to Headquarters and release him there. The other rings will be sent to you once that is done.”

What happened next was unknown to Tsuna as exhaustion finally caught up to him and he let himself be taken by darkness.


	40. Epilogue: Family & Famiglia

** Namimori, Sawada Household **

The day after the battle, Tsuna woke up to loud voices coming from downstairs. After a quick glance at the clock which told him it was already past noon, he jumped out of his bed and made his way down the stairs. He was quick to recognize one of the voices as his father’s. The other, much quieter was more difficult to discern. It was only when he was halfway down the stairs and the voices had returned to a normal volume that he recognized the second voice. Heart beating fast, he took a deep breath, stopping at the foot of the staircase right next to the sitting room from which the voices emerged.

“Have you patched up with him?” was asking Reborn’s voice, a tenseness indicating that he was trying to be civil.

A silence ensued.

“Not yet.” murmured the much lighter voice. “I haven’t…”

The conversation came to an abrupt stop and the sound of quick footsteps was heard.  A moment later, a hooded woman stepped out of the room stopping short when her eyes found Tsuna. The two stared at each other frozen as they gazed at their long lost family member.

“Maman.” Tsuna finally whispered breaking the spell.

The woman took a hesitant step slowly raising her trembling arms. In one swift movement she dropped to her knees and enveloped the boy in a warm embrace.

“Caelum.” she murmured in his ear. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He shakily returned the hug, smiling despite the lump of emotion that had settled in his throat.

“It’s good to see you Maman.” he offered feebly after a while.

She did not answer but pressed him closer to her.

Raising his gaze Tsuna caught sight of Reborn silently watching them and he gave the man a watery smile. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes relishing in the rare show of tenderness from the one he considered to be his mother.

The woman he had first known as Viper wasn’t exactly one for affectionate gestures or feelings. In the first place, she never did anything unless she was paid for it. Which was one of the reasons why Reborn disliked her so much. Unfortunately for the hitman, he had had many occasions to work with her in the past, even more so after he had agreed to become an Arcobaleno. It was after one such job that Viper had found out about Reborn’s son. It had been a bit hard to hide it from her considering Caelum had been kidnapped, thus making his rescue an inherent part of the job.

Tsuna still had no idea why, but Viper had become a somewhat regular visitor after that. It had been a long time before Tsuna learned that she and Reborn had grown up in the same mafia orphanage and had formed the hypothesis that Viper had been trying to rekindle old sibling bonds with the man. By the time he acquired this knowledge she had already become his mother figure. The one who taught him the importance of money and the best ways to get discounts. The one who sang nursery rhymes for him when he couldn’t sleep – though she then demanded payment in the form of drawings and sweets – while Reborn made quips at her intelligence and singing skills.

She was family. She was Maman.

He opened his eyes as he felt the woman draw back. He smiled at her and under the hood, the woman’s lips quirked into a smile.

“Well this is all very touching but Viper has something to do. Don’t you Viper? So off you go now.”

“Papa!”

 

** Namimori Middle School, _After school_ **

A few days after his reunion with his mother, Tsuna was walking out of school surrounded by his friends and chatting merrily when he caught sight of an all-too-familiar man with black spiky hair. He met the man’s hardened gaze and smiled slightly.

“Guys.” he said turning to his friends. “I have someone to see, so go one ahead without me.”

He then made his way to the man patiently waiting.

“Lancia.” he greeted, stopping in front of the man. “How have you been?”

The man smiled lightly at the beaming boy.

“I’ve been well thank you.” he answered. “I heard about the fight you were involved in and initially came here to help but it seems it wasn’t needed.”

“I appreciate it, Lancia.” said Tsuna softly.

The man smiled uncertainly.

“I also…” he paused looking around them. “Perhaps we should take this somewhere else.” he sighed eventually.

Tsuna nodded and they made their way to a nearby park which was conveniently empty, exchanging small talk as they walked.

“What did you want to talk about?” asked Tsuna when they reached their destination and had taken place on a bench facing the swings.

The man cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“It’s about…my previous family.” he started. “When we fought you started saying something about them and I…well, I think I have an idea what you were about to say.” he glanced at Tsuna. “I think I always knew somewhere in my heart, but I didn’t want to see it.”

The man took in a harsh breath.

“They were involved in the human experimentation weren’t they?”

Tsuna gazed at him in silence for a moment, a wave of sympathy rushing over him as he looked upon the distraught man.

“Yes. To be precise, they were in charge of kidnapping children to supply the laboratories.” he said softly.

There was a long pause during which Lancia just stared at his hand unseeingly.

“That’s why Mukuro Rokudo went after them then?” he questioned at last.

Tsuna nodded silently.

“I always had an inkling you see.” started Lancia with a hint of desperation. “Sometimes my boss would have me participate in protecting the crates. I never thought about what could be inside. I didn’t want to I think. They saved my life, I wanted to believe they were good people.”

“Maybe they were.” said Tsuna. “Sometimes good people do bad things and sometimes bad people do good things. You and I should know that very well.”

They exchanged a smile.

“The world isn’t black and white. Sometimes we find ourselves in-between, so it’s fine for you to keep them in your memory as good people. Simply, they had a darker side which eventually led to their death.” Tsuna paused thoughtfully. “I probably don’t have any right to ask that of you but please don’t hate Mukuro. I think he knew you weren’t involved in the child trafficking which is why he chose to manipulate you rather than kill you. In his odd messed up way, he was trying to spare you.”

With these words he got to his feet.

“It’s time for me to go now but it was nice seeing you again Lancia.” he said. “Be well and please think about what I told you.”

The man got his feet as well and nodded.

“I will. Thank you.”

With a last smile and a wave of farewell, the boy turned away. As he dug his hands into his pockets he looked up at the sky overhead. _Sometimes good people do bad things._ He had been one of those. _In the future, I’ll definitely strive to be a good person who does good things,_ he thought to himself, smiling at his new resolve.

 

** Namimori **

In the week that followed, Tsuna was caught up in trying to spend time with just about everyone. His friends had become somewhat needy and were always asking him to spend times with them, usually splitting into two separate groups revolving around Hayato and Hana. Though he did his best to please all of them, the constant conflict was rather exhausting, especially when the kids – mainly Lambo – got involved as a third party.

In the midst of all this, Nana got her divorce and banned Iemitsu from the household. Initially he had meant to forbid him the access to the house unless it was to see Ienari, but the boy had coldly declared that his father could see him in the CEDEF and had no need to come to the house. Iemitsu had had no choice but to accept the situation, head lowered, in order to salvage what little he had left. This had made Tsuna somewhat glad, though he was quick to feel ashamed of himself for it. Though Reborn assured him that it was only right and that Iemitsu had had it coming, he couldn’t help a feeling of guilt at the thought that he had destroyed a family. Nari and Nana were quick to put those worries at rest by deciding that they didn’t know enough about Tsuna which resulted in quite a lot of ‘family bonding’ time as Nana enthusiastically put it.

In this whirlwind of events Tsuna did not see his Maman for approximately two weeks and was starting to worry that she had disappeared once again when she showed up at the doorstep one Saturday morning, with one purple haired man in tow. When Tsuna’s gaze had landed on Skull’s sheepish grin his face had broken into a huge smile and he had jumped on his self-proclaimed ‘fun big brother’. As it turned out the two had planned an outing with Reborn in order to give Tsuna his long-awaited family reunion and to announce they had decided to get married. The day was mostly spent with Viper and Reborn arguing about everything while Skull collapsed in laughter and Tsuna watched the scene helplessly grinning. But when all was said and done, the boy felt blessed. This was family as he had always known it and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

* * *

 

**_ Seven years later,  _ Vongola Mansion, Italy **

The Vongola Decimo was gazing out of his office’s window, a satisfied smile on his face. He showed no surprise when someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.” he called out, walking to stand by his desk and the door opened and a young man with short blond hair walked in.

“Decimo, you called for me?”

“Ienari, I wanted to congratulate you on your appointment as Chief of the CEDEF.” said the Boss with a warm smile directed at his twin brother.

The man smiled and bowed his head in thanks.

“Thank you Tsuna.”

A flash of mischief in his brother’s eyes warned him that the meeting wasn’t just a congratulatory one.

“What did you do now?” he asked with a huff of muck annoyance.

The brunet chuckled.

“I’m about to give you your first task as Chief Advisor.” announced the man eyes twinkling with delight.

Nari’s gaze became curious as he waited for his brother to elaborate.

“I’d like you to accompany me to Vindicare to pick up an old friend.”

Nari’s jaw slackened in shock.

“The negotiations were successful?” he asked eyes widening in surprise, lips starting to quirk upwards at the implications.

“Yep.” chirped the man said to be the strongest mafia boss in the world. “They finally agreed to release Mukuro. They said the investigation gave satisfying results, though I think Lancia’s testimony in Mukuro’s favour is what really tipped the scale.”

“Good thing he decided to get involved.” noted Nari thoughtfully.

“Yes.” murmured Tsuna with a mysterious smile.

It was true that without the man’s help the negotiations with Vindice might have gone for another seven years. _Sometimes people who’ve done bad things do good things, uh?_ His smile widened at the thought and he grinned joyfully as he threw his dark mantle on his shoulders.

“Shall we go then, Chief Advisor?” he asked lightly as he started walking out, a spring in his step.

Behind him the man chuckled softly.

“Yes, yes, let’s go and get your Mist Guardian, Vongola Decimo.”


End file.
